4th Birthday Party

15 4-year olds desended onto our house this weekend celebrate Colin and Jake's 4th birthday. Everything turned out great and for the most part, the kids loved the special visit from Batman and Spiderman!

Halloween 2009

Spokane Trip 2009

Some new photos of our recent trip to Spokane.

Tahoe Summer Vacation

Got back from Tahoe a few weeks ago, but just getting around to editing the photos. This was the first time back there in summer time since we visited when they were one and a half years old. Bringing them up there at three and a half had it's challenges as well, but I think all of us had a better experience this time around. They obviously were a lot more mobile and that enabled us to do a lot more. We took the gondola up to the top of Heavenly, played miniature golf, "hiked" up to Angora Lakes, spent the day at the beach and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Enjoy the photos!

Easter 2009

Video Post: Christmas 2008

I know it's almost February, but finally finished putting this together. A little look back at Christmas 2008.

New York Vacation

We are back from nine days visiting the east coast and the first long plane trip for the boys. Overall the trip was a great success, despite the challenge of dragging toddler boys across the country! The flight out was fairly uneventful and we managed to land in New York without driving our fellow passengers to drink. The flight home was another story! More on that later…..

After landing at JFK at roughly 9:30 p.m. eastern time, we loaded up the rental car for the 2-hour drive to the North Fork of the Hamptons where Peter and Colleen had rented a beautiful beach house. The house was located just outside the town of Southold on a quiet street just a block up from a private beach. The North Fork is such a different place than what you would think of when you hear “the Hamptons.” There are quaint, picturesque towns surrounded by vineyards and fresh fruit and vegetable stands. It’s a very rural setting and we had a pair of horses across the street that the boys insisted we visit each morning after breakfast!

The centerpiece of this portion of the trip was the celebration of Peter and Colleen’s 40th anniversary. It went off without a hitch and I think Colin and Jake ended up enjoying themselves after getting over the shock of meeting all these people! There were a lot of cousins, aunts, uncles and everything in-between that they met. By the end of the night they had each busted a few moves on the dance floor and probably taken a photo with at least half the people there!

The final few days in Long Island were spent with Natalie and her son, Davis. They made the trip up from North Carolina while her husband Kevin was working the Olympics in China. Davis is the same age as the boys, so two peas in a pod became three peas in a pod.

After the incredible beach house, anything was going to be a letdown. So we grudgingly moved on to the Residence Inn in White Plains. The location was great because we were close to Adrianne’s friends in Westchester, plus we were two blocks from the train station to go to Manhattan, but it just wasn’t the same as our life of luxury in the Hamptons! We made due though and pushed through and capped off the trip with a trip to the big city.

We had been hyping this portion of the trip up for a while to temper the blow of no longer having horses to visit with in the mornings or a beach to build sandcastles on, so they were generally excited by the time Friday rolled around. We were going to take a train ride - - which had Colin very, very excited - - and then a taxi cab ride - - which had Jake very, very excited - - and then a trip to the Central Park Zoo.

After the zoo, we hit up the Central Park carousel, watched the street vendors and horse carriage rides for a while and then ventured off to grab lunch. Navigating the streets of Manhattan with a double-wide stroller is not the easiest thing in the world to do. But the payoff was a trip to the Disney Store and a chance meeting with Donald Duck and Goofy. At first they wouldn’t go near Goofy because as Colin put it, “he has big teeth and gloves,” but they were up for a photo op with Donald. After that Colin was cool with Goofy, so we got a photo with him as well. I think Jake was on the verge of freaking out the entire time and I had visions of Christmases’ past and Santa meltdowns, but he kept it together. Even at this young age, peer pressure can be an amazing thing. He was watching Colin high-five Donald and Goofy and just sort of followed along reluctantly.

It was a really fun trip, but exhausting. I think the relaxing, reading a book on the beach vacations are out for a few years!

Check out all the photos from the trip below:

Latest Photos of Two Together

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Latest Jake Photos

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Latest Colin Photos

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Photo, photos and more photos

The Boys Together



Colin



Jake

Video Post: Two Years Old

Happy Birthday to Colin and Jake! Here's a look back at this second year set to the music of Ben Harper's rendition of Beautiful Boy which was originally done by John Lennon.

23 Months Old

Before diving into the monthly recap we must first offer a mea culpa from the writing and editing staff here at the Four Boys and a Lady blog. As you can tell there is not an entry for Month 22 and in our opinion even the one for Month 21 kind of sucks. We offer our sincerest apologies for those of you waiting on every word from this blog (and at this point I think we’re talking to about five people!) and we strive to bring it back up to the standards to which you readers deserve. So with that…on to final month of this second year of Colin and Jake.

One of the very big reasons we haven’t been keeping up with the blog is because things are changing at such a hectic pace that we can barely keep up. Both of the boys have made such drastic changes in the past two months it’s been really unbelievable to sit back and think about for a once-a-month blog recap like this.

They have so many words in their vocabulary and we actively communicate with them now. They ask for things, albeit in choppy sentences, but still they are in the form of a sentence! But with this new found freedom and expression is the flip side – the frustration. Oh the frustration! There are things they want to say or do and when they can’t find the words or actions or God forbid you don’t understand what they are trying to say or do….watch out! If we are to believe what you read and hear about the terrible two’s and tantrums and there is something worse than this on the horizon, we’re in trouble!

As we mentioned in the last post, the boys have been going to day care four days a week. Everything has been going good and they come home with new stuff every day. You’ll catch them repeating some phrase or mimicking something and for the life of you can’t figure out what they are doing or where they learned that. Then you ask their teacher the next day and it’s part of some song they are singing or activity they’ve been doing.

We’ve also seen how having twins has helped in the day care situation. I don’t think too many kids would have grasped the sharing concept that is a must at day care so quickly other than twins. Sharing is a fact of life they have known since the day they were born (Colin didn’t quite grasp the concept in utero since he took all the food for nine months!). You still hear “Mine!” declarations from time to time, but taking turns and sharing certainly is in their repertoire.

The photo taking has been sporadic, but the Halloween holiday forced me to break of the camera…take a look at the Halloween 2007 gallery or their individual photos below.

21 Months Old

A big shift in the daily routine happened this month. For the last few weeks, the boys have been going to daycare four days a week. It’s a big adjustment to their lives since they are roughly there from 8:45 until 4:00 in the afternoon.

Children under two (or for that matter any age!) are not generally known for their ability to handle adjustments well, but these guys are giving it their best shot. Their parents (one of whom dislikes change about as much as them…not naming names though) are also adjusting to the fact that their little boys are “off in the world” everyday. It’s been an interesting few weeks that’s for sure, but for the most part everyone is starting to get used to the idea.

Each of them is handling the situation in their own way as well. Jake, for instance, does not like the initial drop-off experience. He has cried almost every day when it comes time for Age to leave. All reports have come back that after a few minutes he calms down and enjoys the rest of the day there. In fact, we know he is starting to become really comfortable there because the teacher reported yesterday that Jake was being quite the character. So we know that once he moves from quiet, shy Jake and into dancing, yelling Jake that he has become comfortable in his surroundings.

Colin, on the other hand, takes off into the room the second they are dropped off with barely an acknowledgment when Age says she is leaving. According to all the reports from the teachers is having a good time throughout the day lately, but has struggled with napping there. Colin is a big sleeper and not sleeping in his darkened room on his own bed isn’t sitting too well with him. The interesting thing about him though is when the day is done and Age is there to pick them up, he is ready to go. He tugs at her while she is trying to get the daily report from the teacher, whines and keeps repeating “Bye-bye, Bye-bye.”

For the amount of worry that we put into this decision, things have been better than expected. They seem to be getting a lot out of it and come home most days in better moods that when they left! Every time we drive past the school the boys’ wave and Jake says “Stella” (who is his teacher) and points. We think he believes she lives there!

We’ll leave you with this story from last week that Teacher Stella relayed. Jake was starting to cause a minor ruckus and had his hand raised about to throw a toy. Stella sternly looked at him and with a questioning tone said “Jake?” stringing out the “a” to let him know he was caught and she meant business. Jake looked at her and lowered his hand and with his cute smile returned the elongated questioning tone and said, “Stella?”

I can’t for the life of me understand where my son learned to be a smart-aleck?!

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ed. note: Sorry, but there aren't any new photos this month. Promise to break out the camera more in September! Take a look at past photos here.

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Video Post: Tahoe Vacation

You've seen the photos, now SEE THE VIDEO! It really was a fun trip and great to see the boys having so much fun (most of the time!). It's really a video montage of the two of them. There isn't a ton of footage of me and Age! It's just when they are dancing around, it's kind of hard to take the camera off them!

20 Months Old

“Looks like they started ‘The Two’s’ early.”

The above exclamation recently came from the woman at the front desk of our condo in Tahoe as Colin bolted out of the elevator with an emphatic “Go!” and Jake chased after him only pausing to point out that there was indeed a “phone” on the wall and could he have it. I’m not sure whether the comment from the woman was a compliment on our two boys advanced “life skills” or if she was wearily anticipating the wave of destruction that was to follow over the course of the next six days.

The “Terrible Two’s” obviously has its negative connotations. I still believe that they are not in the midst of them yet, but they are becoming more of a handful these days! They have begun to understand that the power of their words and actions can provide them the results they are looking for. This is basically a roundabout way of saying they understand now that if they scream and stomp around they have a better chance of getting what they want!

They are going to start daycare this month when Age goes back to work. The plan is for them to be there four days a week from 8:00 – 4:00 with Fridays at home. They have been visiting a few days a week with Adrianne to start getting used to it, but it’s going to be interesting to see how they react without the safety net of mommy around. We think that experiencing new people and things in a controlled environment will be good for them, but we shall see!

As mentioned earlier, we just got back from Tahoe for a week vacation up there (a big reason their monthly blog is 10 days late!). It was certainly a different trip than the one we took with them last summer when they were seven months old. It was great to watch them experience new things and see things through their eyes, but it was exhausting (see opening paragraph) and not much of a vacation for the parents! They kept us jumping the entire time we were there. Luckily we had help with Grandpa Spencer and Nana Kathy for a few days at the beginning and Grammie all day on Friday to shoulder some of the load. We took them hiking in backpacks to a nice alpine lake up off Carson Pass, visited the beach a few times, went bike riding towing them behind us, took a lunchtime paddleboat to Emerald Bay and went up on the gondola overlooking the entire lake.

There is a ton of video from this summer and this last trip. I’m trying to find the time to put something together soon! Take a look at the Tahoe photo gallery or some of the individual pictures from the last month.

19 Months Old

[ed. note: This post was originally started just before their 19th month date, but has been neglected and is obviously a little late. Please accept the full apologies from management]

It’s almost July and the summer is in full swing here. Adrianne is off from teaching and the boys have a full array of activities keeping them busy from morning to night.

On Tuesday’s they have swimming lessons. Wednesday is Music Together with Mama and Grandma and in a few weeks, they’ll add a Friday Gymboree class with Grammie and Mama. Their still getting used to all this morning activity (they spent their entire 20 minute first swim lesson on Tuesday crying!), but they usually become more comfortable after a few classes.

They both are usually a little leery at first in public settings, but Colin is always the first to venture out. It’s interesting to see because in private settings around people they know, Jake is the one auditioning to become a stand-up comic. To put it into sports terms, Jake is the leader in the clubhouse, while Colin is the leader on the field. When we are at home, Jake usually initiates something with Colin watching closely and following whatever his brother just did. But when we’re out in public or going to a new place where there are people around, Colin jumps right out in front and takes the lead, while Jake turns into a statue clinging to our legs. They have so many similarities that it’s fascinating to see this ying and yang part about them.

Language is at an all-time high lately. We’ve discussed in this blog before all the new words each of them have learned. That part hasn’t changed (and they continue to add new words to their repertoire), but what has begun more recently is what can only be described as incessant, incoherent babbling. Each of them will spend major parts of the day having “conversations” with nobody in particular. They mimic the cadence and tone of a normal, adult conversation but replace most of the words with gibberish. It’s really funny because you’ll hear them having this little conversation and real words will creep in and out of the stream. You’ll hear “Gabba itch’l toma mon toat. No, mama. Itsmon lot keen. Scout. Baaal.” We’ve been trying to get it on video because words doesn’t do it justice. You really have to see and hear it, but they clam up when the camera comes on!

Our goal this summer is to post more videos. It’s getting harder to write monthly recap posts, when things start sounding the same each month. They are growing and changing so much each month, but again, you have to see it more than read about it each month. So for now, the best we can do is some new photos! Check out the galleries below for some of the latest snapshots.

Video Post: Bosom Buddies

Remember the classic sitcom from the 80's Bosom Buddies? Take a look at the original opening sequence and then imagine what it would be like today.......

18 Months Old

Eighteen months have gone by since Colin and Jake graced us with their presence….a year-and-a-half…wow, who could have known how much can happen in such a short period of time?! Well, I guess our parents or friends could have filled us in, but that would have taken all the fun out of it!

The very existence of this blog is basically a recap of how much has changed in the past 18 months, so we won’t bore you with the details of all the changes. But one fairly significant change has occurred since the Month 17 posting. We’ve documented the growth of each of their vocabulary these past few months, but this past month has seen an explosion in communication.

We are not at the point where we’re all sitting down for dinner and having conversations, but it’s safe to say that our communication is becoming a two-way street. For instance, Jake will look at us with his arms up in the air quizzically and ask “Paa? Paa?” looking for his pacifier and we’ll say “I think you dropped it in the kitchen. Go look for it.” Off he’ll go into the kitchen and come back around the corner with a big, goofy grin and a pacifier in his mouth!! Or Colin in the bathtub the other day laughing mischievously after I told him to “Pour the water on your brother’s head” and he looked at me with a “really?” expression before pouring a glass of bath water on Jake’s head. I know there are people studying linguistics and how children learn language and I’m not breaking any new ground here, but it is so amazing and interesting to watch each day.

It has also been a good month watching them interact with each other and to see how much they enjoy each other’s company. There are moments where they both would rather they didn’t have a brother hogging all the attention, but for the most part they like playing and being around each other. This video of them in the bath was taken back in April, but is a good example of their love for each other and how much they are understand these days.

The summer is here and they have been spending a lot of time outdoors. They are the quintessential little boys playing with dirt, water, sticks, rocks and whatever else they can make a mess with.

What is it with trucks that fascinate little boys so much? Thursday morning is the best because that’s the morning that the trash and recycling trucks come. They usually show up right around the end of breakfast and we’ll slide them in their highchairs over to the front window to watch the garbage truck come and take our cans. If they have finished their breakfast already, you should see the sprint to their chairs when they hear those trucks come rolling down the street!

With the summer here, that also means Age is almost done with the school year. To keep her sanity slightly intact, we’re in the process of signing the boys us for swim lessons, Music Together and Gymboree classes. It’s going to be interesting, but I think both of them are really going to enjoy being around other kids and doing fun, physical and different activities a few times a week.

So 18 months are done and we move into the stretch run before the “terrible twos” if there is such a thing!

17 Months Old

Once again, the monthly blog update is late. Thankfully, this one is a case the Warriors playoff run holding things up and not their illness again.

After recovering from their bout with the flu last month, it seemed as if both boys where shot out of a cannon into this month.

Their energy and enthusiasm has been off the charts lately. They really enjoy doing new things, being outside and mixing in the occasional wrestling match with each other. It’s really starting to sound like a broken record, but each month they seem to be growing into little boys more and more.

Their personalities, expressiveness and especially their communication skills are developing by leaps and bounds. On the flip side of all these positive things, they are also beginning to understand that their assertiveness can get them things as well. They know what they want and aren’t afraid of letting us know it either!

For the past month, Jake has started this new trend of getting up between 5:45 and 6:30 a.m. There was a time when both of them would sleep until 6:45 on most days. Now only Colin sleeps in, while his brother yells out to be picked up at the crack of dawn. We rotate who has to get up with him and sometimes he’ll go back to sleep or sit quietly on your lap. But once he’s up, he is ready to start the day! After a quick bite of Cheerios and some juice, he’s off to the races.

Colin enjoys a nice leisurely wake-up. There have been times that we’ve gone back to their room to just check and see if he’s up yet and he’s just sitting in his crib quietly waiting for someone to come and get him.

It’s been mentioned before, but his temperament is so relaxed sometimes. He recently got an eye infection and on the first morning when we went in to get him his eyes were caked with goo and mucus. He didn’t seem to mind that he was temporarily blinded and couldn’t pry his eyes open in the morning! He just casually waited while we washed his eyes off with a wash cloth and started his day as if nothing happened.

It’s still an elusive video to capture, but when the music hits the both of them; it becomes Dance Party 2007 in our house. Both boys get boppin’ and shakin’ to the music. It’s so funny to see and this written blog doesn’t do it justice. We promise to post a video as soon as we can get it while their not looking.