As sweet as they come...

A very sweet woman proudly announced her age to me earlier tonight, and it got me thinking about growing older and how I would feel when I reached her age. I like to think that I'll be just as happy as she is. After all she has a lot going for her. What more can any of us ask for on a birthday aside from spending it surrounded by people who love us? I hope those of you that don't already know Honey, know someone equally as wonderful. She's a very special woman, and I'm so fortunate to have her in my life.

This evening we met with Honey and the Bacon's for dinner at her favorite restaurant, and then we headed back to their place for some birthday cake. I'm still in awe by how easily Patti whips up these awesome cakes that she makes. She's got some mad skills.

And just coming off of their own birthday, Zach and Ben were all about celebrating another birthday. All they could talk about were Honey's presents and if it was time to open them yet and if it was time for cake yet. Once Zach got his piece in front of him, he just pushed it away and instead helped himself to the sheet of fondant with the Honey's birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you and are so happy we could celebrate with you today!

ZML

There are many adjectives that describe Zach. Some that immediately come to mind are loud, talkative, animated, imaginative, enthusiastic, and affectionate. I think it was the first day we dropped the boys off at the Child Development Center at the Y, and Darius told me when he checked in on the boys that one of the staff members had told him, "Zach knows a lot of words." At first I was a little worried about what all those words were exactly. Zach is a sponge and will repeat everything he hears, good and bad. Upon clarification, we were told that he was just a very talkative little boy and liked to chat with everyone. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall to hear his take on life when we aren't around. His talkative nature also means that he's a blabber mouth. If you are trying to surprise someone or don't want something repeated, Zach is not the person to discuss things with. He is also our naughty-word policeman. The oh-my-gosh face he makes when he hears "stupid" is priceless.

I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise that Zach is also very social. I guess that goes hand in hand with being very verbal. He likes to be around people and often shouts out hello and strikes up conversations with total strangers wherever he goes. At the grocery store about a month ago he invited a couple and their young son over to our house to play with all his toys. When we're at the playground, there's a night and day difference in his demeanor when there are kids around as opposed to no kids. When other kids are present he runs around after them, is very animated, and borderline crazy.

Zach's social nature also means that he's often an extra appendage when we're at home. It's not enough for me to be in the same room as he is. He likes me to be right beside him. As I started writing this post at the desk in our living/dining room, I wasn't more than 15 feet away from him, but he kept begging me to come and sit and cuddle with him on the couch. At night he usually wakes up after a few hours and seeks me out. I know the time is coming where I need to wean him off of sleeping in our bed, but for now there's nothing sweeter than sleeping between two little snuggle bugs.

Growing up I've been told by siblings, cousins, and friends that I was animated and imaginative, so I guess it makes perfect sense that Zach has those traits as well. When Zach is expressing himself, he uses all of his body. When he talks passionately about something his lips pucker out, his mouth opens wide, his eyes are round and darting, his limbs are all over the place, all the muscles in his body twitch, and if he's sitting it's not long before he jumps up in excitement. When he dances he does some very interesting things with his body. When he loves you, and gives you one of his spontaneous hugs, he squeezes you with every ounce of his being. Those hugs are super special.

When Zach plays he's very good at using his imagination. I love to sit outside his room and listen to him pretend to be multiple characters. He uses different voices and goes from a regular voice, to a high squeaky voice, to a low menacing-sounding voice. The things he has these various characters saying is often super random and very funny. Zach is also passionate about dress up, and his latest costume addition is a Darth Vader mask and cape (the cape he calls his flag). Mike, Patti, Dylan and Emma gave each of the boys one for their birthday, and when Zach put his costume on for the first time, he ran around their house singing Darth's theme song with great gusto.

Zach is very honest with his feelings and will tell you just what is on his mind. He definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. He's also becoming very skilled at guilt trips and has some pretty adorable ways of trying to convince you to give him what he wants. Lately he tells me in the sweetest voice, "But Mommy, you're my best friend......" followed by why it is I need to do what he wants me to. On the flip side of that sweetness is also a very sour side. He's as passionate about his tantrums as anything else, and it's not a pretty sight! He told me for the first time about a week ago that I was a bad mommy. I know he's only reacting to a moment and doesn't mean what he says, and it helps that he tells me dozens of times in a day how much he loves me. I hope he knows just how much I love him too.

There is never a dull moment with Zach. There's no telling what interesting things he'll say in a day, and he always keeps me on my toes. Every day he brings a smile to my face, and even when he wakes me too early for my liking, I can't help but smile inside when he tells me good morning and says it's a beautiful day.

BDL

Where to start? I love this kid and love watching how he goes about his day. Ben is a deep thinker, and I can just see the wheels in his head turning when he's really focused on something. Ben is an independent kid. He likes to do things for himself and often wants to figure out how to do something on his own and in is own time (i.e. potty training). Now that he's using the potty he likes to push me out the door and close it so he can have his privacy. I find that he's kicking me out of his room a lot more now too. As much as I love Ben's independent nature, it sometimes hits me that he's growing up too fast, and it makes me a little sad.

Right now Ben is really passionate about dinosaurs and loves his expanding collection of them. Back in December we were at a book store, and I think he had a Thomas book picked out which Darius had already paid for. I was browsing books displayed on a wall when I came across a really cool book about dinosaurs, and once Ben saw what I was looking at he just had to have it instead of the Thomas book. Darius ended up returning the other book, and the dinosaur book became an instant favorite. It's not a story book, but it's crammed full of all sorts of facts about dinosaurs. Ben will sit and study the book, and there's a certain amount of time he dedicates to each page, and you're not allowed to turn the page until he's done discussing it. I think it's amazing that he can clearly identify and pronounce names of dinosaurs like Ornithomimus, Deinonychus, Parasauralophus, and Pachycephalosaurus especially since he's still a little hard to understand in regular conversation.

Ben's other great love right now is puzzle building. I don't think a day goes by that he doesn't put together a puzzle. He's up to 48-piece puzzles now, and I'm sure it won't be long before he's ready to tackle some harder ones. I think it's interesting that with the dozens of puzzles he has, he doesn't need to refer to a picture to finish any of them. Once he puts a puzzle together for the first time, he doesn't seem to struggle much when he assembles it again.

Ben also loves to put other things together, with train tracks near the top of his list. It was only about a month ago that the boys would ask me every morning to building them a train track. Lately I find that I'm not being asked as much anymore. Ben likes to utilize his entire room to lay tracks. A couple of days ago I found one that started in his closet, wound around a table in the center of his room, and came to an end just inside the doorway. Now whenever I do help him build a track, it's usually him dictating to me the way that it needs to be constructed.

I love that Ben is so helpful and wants to be involved when I'm in the kitchen. He likes to hold the mixer, pour ingredients into a bowl, and he stirs with great enthusiasm. If I'm loading/unloading the dishwasher, he will help me by handing me clean dishes to put away or will load the dirty ones for me. He also still likes to sweep and wants his turn at vacuuming the floors. When he makes a mess, he will quickly find a rag or towel to clean it up.

I think that Ben might be a hair OCD, or as I like to call him "particular." He likes to organize and line things up according to size and color. When he "organizes" the toys in his room, he likes to take them out of their receptacles and put them into other ones, so basically he's just moving stuff around, but according to him this is organizing. At the moment, he's currently staging his room in the living room. He spread out a blanket and pillow on the floor, he brought out a stool from his table, set up a photo on the floor, has a couple of toy boxes loaded up with toys, and of course his favorite dinosaur book has been placed in a particular spot.

Although Ben has Zach to play with everyday, it's not always a pretty sight when they play. As sweet as Ben can be at times, there is also the side to him that is challenging, highly opinionated, bossy, and is really good at pushing his brother's buttons. Whenever they're getting along and playing nicely with each other my life is pure bliss. I love those moments. And despite how Ben might give Zach a hard time, he will always be the first one to his brother's defense. If Zach is getting in trouble, Ben immediately starts to get upset with us and scolds us for whatever grave injustice is being done to Zach. He's so serious about it, but it's really hard not to laugh whenever he starts in.

I love this kid and all the things that make him tick. His brown eyes melt me, his laugh is infectious, and I still think he gives the sweetest kisses ever. I absolutely love the look on his face whenever he does something he's pleased with. He loves to be encouraged and absolutely lights up whenever you tell him he's done well at something. How lucky I am to be his mom! I adore Ben and watching him grow up is so awesome!

Another Birthday

Months back I came across a blog through another blog I follow. The woman, Anna, who writes it is someone I have never met and most likely will never meet. I know nothing about her life aside from what she shares via her blog. Since coming across her blog I have found myself checking it almost daily. Often her posts are difficult to read without tears. When I first started reading Anna's blog, her family had just suffered the devastating loss of their son, Jack.

I can't wrap my head around the thought of losing a child, and here is this woman who openly writes about her grief. I know there are so many people in the world who unfortunately suffer similar loss, and those stories I come across give me pause, but then I find myself moving along with my life. Why I choose to continue reading Anna's words is hard for me to explain, but I believe it's for all the right reasons.

Today would have been Jack's 13th birthday. Just coming away from my own kids' birthday, I can only imagine what a difficult day Anna and her family must be experiencing with the absence of their son and brother. I have found myself saying several prayers for Anna and her family over the months and especially around the holidays, but I think she could probably use a few extra prayers on a day like today. If you can spare one of your own today, I know it would help to provide a little more comfort and peace of mind to Anna and her family. Thanks.

Pre & Post Birthday Fun

Darius took a couple days off this week and we were able to do some fun stuff with the boys the day before and after their birthday. Sunday Zach came down with a 24-hour bug of some sort and was running fever. We were so relieved Monday morning when he was over it, and instead of keeping him on lock down we decided it would be better to get him outside, so we visited the Central Florida Zoo.

It was a smaller zoo, but it was the perfect size for us to tackle. There was an awesome snake exhibit with a couple dozen different species which the boys were super excited about, but even as enthusiastic as Zach was about the snakes, he told me his favorite animal at the zoo was the porcupine.

Inside the zoo there was also a fun playground and splash pad that the boys both enjoyed. Probably the coolest thing about the zoo was actually in the area outside of it. Up in the trees tops is the ZOOm Air Adventure Park equipped with zip lines, rope bridges, suspended discs, etc. It looked like so much fun, and a few years down the road I can totally see the boys up there having a blast.

The day after the boys' birthday we took a little road trip over to Sarasota to visit Grandma Gaile and her husband Jim. She had a little party planned for the boys, and we had a lovely visit. We enjoyed lunch and more birthday cake (which I ate too much of), and the boys were thrilled with more birthday gifts. Ben tackled 2 new puzzles, Zach loved on his plush sea turtle, and later they both enjoyed watching Jim's model electric trains.

On our way home we stopped by our favorite produce stand in Lakeland and picked up a flat of fresh strawberries and lots of other goodies. It's still a thrill to be able to buy such awesome produce for a fraction of what it would cost us in AK.

The past several days have been full of fun, and it's been great for us to spend all this time together, especially to celebrate the boys and the day they came into our lives.

We love you so much Ben & Zach!

A pair of 4-year olds!

"So many good things come in pairs, like ears and socks and panda bears. But, best of all are set of twins, with extra laughter, double grins."    - Unknown

....there's also twice the noise, messes, tantrums, and tears but I wouldn't trade them in for anything!

Tuesday marked Ben and Zach's 4th birthday, and they had anxiously been counting down the days for weeks leading up to the day. The first thing out of Zach's mouth when he woke up was, "It's my birthday today Mommy, now can I have a piece of cake?"

We started off the boys' birthday with Mickey Mouse waffles courtesy of a new waffle iron from Nini and Papaw. I put a candle in each waffle to give them a little practice for blowing out the candles on their cakes. Ben, no problem. Zach, well let's just say there was a good layer of spit all over his waffle and a candle that still wasn't blown out.

While I made pizza dough and got ready, Darius took the boys to the store so that they could spend their $5 dollars from Grandma and Grandpa and buy new underwear for Ben. That switch finally clicked in his head, and we are beyond thrilled to report that he's finally potty trained! What a nice present for Mom and Dad!

Later in the day we took the boys to the Orlando Science Center. It was our first visit there and was an instant hit. We easily spent 4 hours there and could have stayed longer. The boys have requested a return visit several times already. There are a lot of great areas in the center that are geared toward kids their age, and right now they have a temporary Bob the Builder exhibit with all kinds of interactive stuff for kids. They boys spent the majority of their time in that particular room, so I already know there's going to be a lot more to see when we go back again to check out all the other areas.

After the Science Center we stopped at home to pick up the boys' cakes and all the fixings for pizza and headed over to the Bacon household for dinner. I love that we've been able to spend half of the boys' birthdays with the Bacon family. They were there to support us at the hospital when the boys joined our family, and it's nice to have those same faces with us to celebrate 4 years later.

The boys had their cakes picked out months in advance. Ben wanted "Dark Mater."

Zach wanted Wall-E and again coated his cake with spit.....

...and needed the help of Ben and Daddy to blow out his candles.

I love that the boys were so excited for their birthday this year and that they had such a great day. Darius and I never forget how incredibly blessed we are to be their parents. We adore them and love how special they are in their own ways. Our babies are gone, our toddlers are gone, we're now looking at little boys. Wow. Time flies.