Joseph up late!

Joseph likes to wait until brother is soundly off to sleep before calling out at just the right volume for us to hear him but not wake Benjamin.

Last night I let him stay up until Momma can home. He did however decide that our blanket was quite litterally the biggest sucky he had ever seen.



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Fun and Games

Benjamin had jumped in front of Joseph to take him for a ride..., Joseph is looking at Mommy like: "Are you really going to let brother get away with this?"

Doing the dishes is more fun than ever! After a messy meal Joseph wanted to get into the sink to clean off, what a sweet Boy!!

More Summer 2009

Most of these are self explanatory...

Summer 2009

Me and My Boys

You'll notice that the next several posts all have today's date. That's because I have done them all tonight, trying to bring you up to speed on Joseph and Benjamin's development since their first birthday. Sorry for the delay, all I have to say for myself is that somehow time seems to go faster once the babies are mobile!

I hope you enjoy the photos and please feel free to comment. We'd love to hear from you!

Joseph

We are so proud of how hard this little man has worked to get where he is. Joseph has such a determined spirit, he doesn't let anything get him down. We notice this even in the everyday things. For example, when he gets his finger pinched by toy or has a hard time with a task he is attempting, he continues to work at it to figure out what it takes to get it right.

Joseph's sense of humor is also something that has impressed us. At the dinner table, if someone tells a funny story, he laughs at the perfect time. He is quite social and many of his facial expressions remind us of my dad, Grandpa Pat, who was also very entertaining at the dinner table.

Now that Joseph's strength and stamina have improved, he has focused intently on walking without holding on. Having two toddlers walking in opposite directions is the definition of a manic Momma!

Benjamin

Benjamin is such a ball of energy! He seems to be constantly in motion. It's as if he is asking, "Okay, what's next?" all the time. His attention span isn't very long, but rather than impatience I put it down to the fact that he is so curious. I have started limiting the number of toys in the play room at any one time in hopes that he will learn to focus a little more!

Grandma, or "Emma" as the boys call my mom, surprised them with an indoor climbing gym, complete with a telescope (as seen above), a slide and a swing. They love it. And I think it has helped with Benjamin's focus because he was so determined to climb the little wall and slide down all by himself that he did it over and over again until he didn't need my help anymore. He's also a very physical little person, he will climb in, on, and over anything in his path.

In the bathtime photo, Benjamin is using his modified sign language to say "water." My mom has been instrumental in teaching the boys several basic signs and I believe this has helped develop their language skills and allowed us to avoid the frustration that toddlers often experience when their vocalization ability hasn't matured yet.

Mischief Makers

To say that Joseph and Benjamin spend a lot of time together is a bit of an understatement. They eat together, sleep together, bathe together and spend virtually every waking moment in each others company. Although so much togetherness may become tiresome, it also provides many opportunities for cooperation and the benefits of synergism.

For example, a couple months ago they discovered that if they work together they can move both highchairs (even in a locked position) across the kitchen. And just a few days ago I realized that the play room had gotten suddenly quiet. When I went to investigate I discovered that Benjamin had climbed onto the chair to retreive a full box of kleenex off the table, then he and Joseph combined their efforts to empty the box and shred its contents as quickly as possible before mom could spoil the fun.

There is also a sort of twin language that is developing between them. Sometimes I will hear them in their cribs or in the play room just laughing and chattering back and forth with each other in conversational style. It makes me wish I had a universal translater for baby language!

Dad and His Boys

One of the best parts of parenthood for me has been watching what an awesome Dad my husband is. Not only does he get up early to change and feed the boys so I can have some time to prepare for my day, but when he gets home after work he wastes no time scooping up the boys to play with them to give me a break. His efforts have paid off in ways besides my appreciation...Joseph and Benjamin adore him. They stand at the window and wave when he leaves for work and if he's not home on time they wander around whining, "Da da da da."

Joseph, Benjamin, and Great Grandad Bill

Although the boys will not get to meet their maternal grandfather in this lifetime, we have been blessed to still have my grandfather here. Grandad Bill will be 85 this spring and he still has the agility to get down on the floor and play with his great grandchildren. These photos were taken at Thanksgiving. We are also looking forward to October when Nana and Grandad Steel (Matt's folks) will be here from England for an extended visit. Meanwhile, every Sunday the boys get to see their relatives on the other side of the pond via the wonders of modern technology, ie: the webcam.

There's Something about a Box

One of my friends with older kids has often mentioned that kids enjoy the boxes from their toys more than the toys themselves. That seems to be true, as Joseph and Benjamin both love to climb into anything with four sides. This is fine when it's an empty box, or a wagon, but if it's the dog bed full of hair, or the dishwasher, or a drawer full of towels, or a laundry basket with freshly folded clothes, well, it can be exasperating.

Benjamin and his Great, Great Grandmother

DNA is a funny thing. When my grandfather was visiting us for Thanksgiving I saw this photograph of his mother for the first time. I was impressed by how much Benjamin resembles her, nearly one hundred years later. This amused me because until I saw the photo, I really believed Benjamin was a clone of Matthew. The Dennis family DNA came through a little after all!