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!