Thomas the Big Boy

Both Thomas and Elizabeth have been pretty timid children since birth....timid and cautious. Thomas has always been a "watcher"......observing the situation and all involved before deciding whether to join in or walk away. Well, all of the sudden he has become a BOY. He loves to touch lizards, climb anything, kick balls, throw balls, dig in the dirt, etc. Thomas absolutely LOVES bulldozers, diggers, front loaders, tractors and is always on the look out for such machines. He quickly points them out with excitement and squeals with delight if he sees them in action. We recently went to a birthday party at a place called Monkey Joe's which is full of "bouncey houses," and he was a total maniac. He climbed ladders and slid down slides that were at least ten feet high and long...by himself. Thomas was not intimidated at all by the bigger kids running over him and around him. He was in constant motion the entire time.....did not even want to eat his cake or ice cream!!!

Here are some current Thomasisms. The first one makes me laugh every time.
Poopie S Man = UPS man,
Lipey = Wipey
Boo mato = tomato
boobabies = blueberries
strawbabies = strawberries
raspbabies = raspberries
Names his kisses (ex: blue kiss, yellow kiss, King kiss which is typically reserved for Daddy)
Requests cuddles and today requested "bulldozer cuddles"
Says Relaaaaaxxxxx while trying to have a BM on the potty...maybe too much info???

Here is a video of Thomas in action.

We Have Sprouts!!

My Little Farmers

I have wanted to start a garden for years, but have never done so. I decided that this will be the summer. T and E are at a wonderful age to watch things grow, and after watching Curious George (yes, he is still their favorite t.v. character, book character, etc.) grow vegetables they want to "make a garden." We are starting small....only planting tomatoes this year.

After reading a little and getting some advice from my friend Keith and his wife (http://www.whittonfarms.com/) I decided to grow an heirloom tomato rather than a hybrid. Keith recommended a variety called Arkansas Traveler. LOVELY name, isn't it?? We ordered the seeds from a seed company in Missouri, and while waiting for them to arrive the twins talked constantly about planting "boomato seeds." I bought them their very own watering cans and spades, and they could not wait to use them. Once the seeds arrived T and E couldn't wait to plant them. They were somewhat disappointed that we would not be planting them outside first......that was, of course, how Curious George planted his carrot seeds. Anyway, one afternoon last week we went outside to plant our seeds in a starter tomato garden. Thomas and Elizabeth followed directions really well and reminded me constantly they didn't need my help. I love the pics of T and E watering the seeds. They look like little farmers in their overalls. Elizabeth reminds me of Unc (my brother) with her tongue out....always a sign of concentration:)

Stay tuned for tomato updates.

Easter

Thomas and Elizabeth loved their visit from the Easter bunny and really enjoyed the Easter egg hunt. They called out to the eggs as they searched saying, "eggies, eggies," and quickly discovered that shaking the eggs was a sure fire way to tell if candy was inside. Yes, I win the "bad mother of the year" award.... I did not dye eggs with the twins this year. I made lots of Easter plans that fell through due to the kids' constant illnesses.

Enjoy the pics.

Precious Reminders

This past week has been difficult to say the least. E was diagnosed with an ear infection on Friday, and Thomas started throwing up on Sunday. He was unable to hold anything down until Tuesday. Today everything is coming out the other end for poor Thomas. He is eating very little but drinking a lot. Elizabeth has been quite a trooper through all of this and functioning well on very little attention.

After we got the kids in bed I was cleaning up the kitchen and feeling grumpy.....I'm so tired of my kids being sick.....so tired of being cooped up in the house.....so tired of being unable to get a single chore done....so tired of being tired, etc. I heard Elizabeth over the monitor calling, "mommy, mommy." As I climbed the stairs I thought to myself, "what now?" When I opened her door she sat up and said, "We forgot to say our prayers, Mommy," and she quickly folded her sweet little hands. My heart melted.

What a gentle reminder that all will be fine....that it is not all about me. I love our sweet children.

March Madness

March has been a crazy month for our family.....filled with family and illness. The twins have been sick off and on since February....never sick at the same time....guess they ARE learning to take turns after all.

On a lighter note, we have had family come and visit and thoroughly enjoyed our visitors. The first weekend in March, Gramps and Grandmother came to celebrate Christmas. We had a great time taking them to Edventure with us to see the Curious George exhibit. They got to see Thomas and Elizabeth at full throttle. I think Gramps got a little tired of following them around:) David and I enjoyed a night out in the Vista while Gramps and Grandmother got to babysit.

Mimi came to visit in the middle of March. She got some much needed rest, I got lots of time to catch-up with my mama, and the twins got Mimi to themselves for a full day. Mimi babysat so I could attend a continuing education class for maintaining my SLP license.

We are all experiencing some spring fever and can't wait for the weather to warm up and stay warm. We have had some nice weather, and the twins want to be outside all the time. I have started allowing them to play on the back porch, and they love it. I leave the door open so they can come and go as they please. They have a great time taking toys back and forth from the keeping room to the porch, especially their strollers. We have enjoyed a few neighborhood walks without the stroller. T and E like to walk and find treasures ranging from rocks to gumballs to sand. They have quickly learned not to pick up cigarette butts. Why do smokers feel the world is their ash tray???

Thomas is doing great on the potty training front and wears big boy underwear all the time except for nap time and bed time. He still poops in his diaper (always at nap time or bed time) but is doing better about telling us he "needs to make doodie balls." On the other hand, Elizabeth has totally lost interest and doesn't mind being wet. I'm not too concerned.....I'll focus on one at a time for now. We have been using M&M's as potty rewards but have recently switched to dried cranberries. We realized that Thomas was earning close to 20 M&M's a day which is a HUGE amount of chocolate and sugar for a little guy. We thought T and E would revolt at such a change, but it hasn't bothered them a bit.

Thomas and Elizabeth are really enjoying having their own rooms. Elizabeth and I went shopping this past Saturday to find a "little girl quilt" for her bed. She helped me pick it out right down to the decorative throw pillow. She is such a "girly girl," and I love it! I need to pick out paint now so we can paint the kids bedrooms and bathroom.

I'll try to post some updated pics.

Conversation with Thomas

After Thomas' nap this afternoon he said, "Mommy, I want a goldfish for my birthday.....and a baby elephant." There was a picture of a goldfish in the book we were reading at the time, but I don't know where he came up with a baby elephant.

It looks like David and I have some work to do between now and July:)

No More Thompiece

Elizabeth has called her brother, "Thompiece," for a long time.....it was her first way of calling him by name. In the past few days she has started saying Thomas perfectly. Now she doesn't say Thompiece at all. David and I still say it.

Big Night

After much thought and weeks of deliberation we separated the twins at bedtime tonight. Thomas is sleeping in their room, and Elizabeth is sleeping in the guest room or what she and Thomas call "Mimi's room." For weeks David and I have gone back and forth about keeping them together or splitting them up. Honestly, T and E have not been sleeping well since we made the change from the cribs to the big bed. They play, fight, wake each other with kicks to the face. Elizabeth has consistently been on the receiving end of the kicks and squishes. On a more positive note, they have been staying in bed. We told them they had to stay in bed until mama or daddy come to get them (thanks, Jennifer!!), and it has worked so far.

So far so good.....Elizabeth went right to sleep. Thomas talked for awhile but has gone to sleep as well. No separation drama from either side. David and I were a little panicked and he went out to buy another baby monitor for E's room. We will see how the next few nights go. If it works out we will be changing the guest room into a big girl room.

I'm Dry!!!!

Potty training, sigh.......It seems we have been potty training forever. Yesterday was a milestone for Thomas. He stayed dry ALL DAY LONG!! He wore "big boy underwear" while at home and a pull-up while out. He rarely tells us he has to potty and still needs lots of reminding, but we are making progress!

I would have thought Elizabeth was going to be potty trained first, but Thomas may surprise us. It really isn't a competition between them. One could care less if the other goes to the potty. David and I don't care who masters the potty first....we just want it to happen!!

Bye Bye Cribs

That's right.....David took the cribs down today, and we put a "big bed" up in the twins' room. We have been talking about doing this for awhile now. Thomas and Elizabeth had a "dress rehearsal" while in Arkansas for Christmas. They slept in cousin Caroline's bed while we were there. They did fine so David and I decided that after Christmas we would change their room from nursery to big boy/girl room. They are sharing a bed that was David's and belonged to his grandfather a long time ago. Why are they sharing a bed? We knew Thomas and Elizabeth weren't ready to separate yet, and since we combined two households when we got married we have plenty of bedroom furniture sitting in our storage room. We chose to use furniture we have rather than buy new furniture. We still have to rearrange the furniture in their room, but the bed was ready for bedtime tonight. Thomas and Elizabeth were so excited about their new bed. They actually went to sleep much more quickly than I thought they would.

I can't believe I won't pick them up out of their cribs anymore or zip them up in their Grobags anymore. They are growing up so fast. I'm a little sad tonight.

First Snow!

We recently had snow here, and the twins got to play in it for the first time. They had a great time playing while David and I enjoyed getting some pics and video. Afterwards we went inside to warm up with T and E's first cup of hot "cococo." They weren't fond of hot chocolate. I'm not sure if it was the temperature or the sweetness.

The Christmas that Wouldn't End

I know it is a little late for a Christmas post, but I have to have a record of it. Christmas 2008 was AMAZING!! Elizabeth and Thomas were so much fun. Their excitement about Santa Claus, reindeer bells, Christmas carols, opening presents, making cookies,the tree was unreal. It made the season magical to me. I could not get enough of their excitement. They are already talking about next Christmas....."it won't be long," says Elizabeth. If she only knew how true that statement is. The twins are growing up so fast. As hard as it is to deal with toddler behavior I still wish I could freeze time right now. They are so much fun with the things they say and what they remember. I am blown away each day.



We went to Arkansas for Christmas and had a blast in spite of some illness. T and E arrived in Arkansas with sore throats, runny noses, and nasty coughs. Even so they really enjoyed their cousins. This was the first trip they weren't overwhelmed by the number of cousins they had and actually played without me being in sight. Thomas and Elizabeth loved going upstairs and playing in the playroom with the other kids. Santa Claus came to visit Aunt Jojo's the night before Christmas Eve. All of the children were in the kitchen, and as soon as Santa came in the front door saying, "Ho, ho, ho" they all ran to him with Thomas leading the pack. Both Thomas and Elizabeth sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas....a train table is what each of them said.

Christmas Eve was quite an event....the definition of Christmas in my humble opinion. There was four generations of Culloms at Jo's house that night. In the past.....for as long as I can remember...we have always celebrated Christmas Eve at Franny and Grandaddy's house (my paternal grandparents). However, our family has grown so big that there just isn't enough room for everybody at Franny's house anymore. In all, there were 20 adults and 19 children, all of whom were under the age of 8 except for three teenagers. Present time was wonderfully chaotic...the children always go first. I will forever have the twins imprinted in my mind. They were so excited with each gift. At one point Elizabeth raised her hands and said, "I yove my pwesents!!" It was priceless. The adult cousins drew names as always.....none of us need anything really....and the season is about the children anyway.

Christmas Day was quite an event as well. Thomas and Elizabeth were so excited and couldn't wait to get downstairs to see what Santa had left them at Aunt JoJo's house (he came to visit us two places....Jo's house and at our house). Thomas was thrilled with "power" tools, and Elizabeth loved her new baby stroller. They looked for their train table, and we reminded them that Santa was still going to visit us at home. Santa came through and delivered a train table at our house.

We were scheduled to head back to SC a couple of days after Christmas, but the stomach virus hit David and the twins the same evening. That nasty virus started with my mom on Christmas Eve and moved on from there taking out one or two of us at a time. This was the twins first experience with throwing up, and let's just say they didn't like it. I got in bed with them and took care of them as they took turns throwing up every 15 to 30 minutes. Poor Jo washed sheets, blankets and towels all night long. Poor David was on his own. I think he was probably the sickest. I got the virus a couple of days later. So what was supposed to be a week in Arkansas for the Christmas holidays actually turned into two weeks. I'm never ready to leave my family when we visit, but this time I was ready to get home. We still had Santa coming to our house....we have named Christmas 2008 "The Christmas that Wouldn't End."

Elizabeth and Thomas still ask to watch their Rudolph movie at night and sing Jingle Bells, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer daily. They loved Christmas......so did we.

Preschool Christmas Pajama Party

Thomas and Elizabeth had a Christmas pajama party at school. David and I both went for the festivities. I think our presence seemed to confuse them a little. They sang Jingle Bells and quickly sat down to eat. It was fun to see them with their little friends.

Christmas Cookies

Thomas and Elizabeth helped me make cookies for their preschool Christmas party. They loved putting red and green M&M's on the cookies and kept asking for "more cookies to decorate." I'm pretty sure more M&M's made it into their tummies than on the cookies. I loved baking with T and E and plan on having them help more in the kitchen.

Parties, Parties!!

Just trying to play a little Christmas catch-up. This Christmas was a blast! We went to several parties. The first pic is at a fellow twin mama's play group Christmas party. T and E had a great time and played well with children they had never met before. The second pic is at the Mothers of Twins Club children's Christmas party. We had lunch, met Santa, and made cookies. Fun, Fun!

Christmas at the Zoo!

We went to the zoo last night to see the lights and to see Santa. T and E both sat in his lap for pictures....second times a charm (they had a Santa dress rehearsal at the Twins Club Christmas party over the weekend). After seeing Santa we roasted marshmallows. Thomas and Elizabeth enjoyed the roasting and David and I enjoyed eating them....turns out our kids don't like marshmallows. We rode the train, visited the barn and loved playing in the "snow." The zoo has fake snow falling in several areas. Thomas and Elizabeth ran around and danced in the snow. It was precious! I would love to see them in real snow.

Elizabeth's First Haircut

Elizabeth had her first visit to a hair salon today. She was such a big girl. She sat still and shed no tears. It is amazing how grown up Elizabeth looks with her new "do." She is growing up too fast.

Be Still, Santa Claus....

Elizabeth was very busy the other morning as I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I stopped to see what she was up to and had to get the camera. I guess Santa needed a diaper. I was pretty impressed with how she worked to get the diaper on just right. She did this all by herself.

Mama and Dada Time

David and I recently went to Seattle for his company Christmas party. Thomas and Elizabeth stayed with Gramps and Grandmother and had a blast. They read lots of books, played with Belle (dog) and Bob (cat), and searched for Christmas lights every night before bed time.

Oh yeah, David and I had a great time too. Our friends Brett and Amy went as well which made the trip twice as nice. Let's see......shopping, food, and wine with Amy.....dress-up party with David.....great weather.....good times. Can't wait to do it again next year.

I wonder if Gramps and Grandmother will be up for it again?