Joseph & Luke's 2nd Birthday Party

This party was brought to you by the letters J & L and the number 2!

Cupprimo cupcakes. Mmmmm.

The boys woke up from their naps, thrilled to see the Elmo balloons waiting for them. Lots of screams - "Eeeeeeellllllmooooooo!" - with frantic pointing to make sure we were all seeing the same thing. Yeeessss, Elmo!

But being my children, what really excited them was the food.

Luke in a state of stunned euphoria

As Greg likes to say, these boys could eat for the U.S.A. If it ever becomes an Olympic sport, we're bound to medal. They ate their weights in tomatoes and fruit and relished every second of it.

Quality assurance team

Around 3 in the afternoon, our guests began to arrive...


...and rip the house apart. :)




Now would be a good time for the (non-pregnant) moms to grab a beer, sit back and bear witness to the destruction. There's really nothing else to be done when a dozen 2-year-olds are set loose in a house full of Other People's Toys.


I tried and failed to get a shot with my big boys, but they were a bit distracted.



Mimi & MAC! came to help us celebrate - and Mimi to cook and clean and prep and generally manage the chaos. Thanks, Mimi!



Since last year's EPIC birthday song meltdown, Luke has been scarred. When he hears the song, he screams, comes running, and clings to me like his life depends on it. Poor kiddo. Joseph is usually fine unless he sees his brother panic and thinks there's something to panic about. We've been working on it, singing it to him loud and often. When we're at other parties, I always make sure he's in my arms before the song begins and that we have a quick exit strategy just in case.

So here, the moment of truth...





Not bad, I'd say. As soon as Mommy stopped singing, he was a-okay. I'm trying not to take it personally.

Joseph watching calmly as his brother pitches a surprisingly manageable fit

Perhaps it was all a ploy to get the cupcake that much faster.

The boys' first cupcakes

They approve.

And so did everyone else

Convincing Mimi to share her fruit - she did

After most people left, the hardcore partiers started a mosh pit. It was positively encouraged.



Joseph and Luke had such a fun time. We were sorry to see everyone go, but it did take it's toll.

Pooped

After a night of sound sleep, it was time to bust into the presents. A group of friends went in together to get the boys a Learning Tower...

New perspective and higher trouble-making potential

...providing life-saving sustenance to my starving boys.

MMmmm, tomatoes

Practicing his alphabet

Big boys use big boy spoons

Composing original tunes with MAC!

The boys had a GREAT time at their party and so did we. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

My babies are TWO!

Consolidation

This is how we spent our Saturday afternoon.


Converting the nursery back to it's original purpose, housing both of our guys. Luke is getting a bunk-mate, and Joseph is no longer taking up residence in the spare room with all of our leftover, rag-tag college furniture.


We have no idea how this is going to go since they've spent the last year and a half having their own rooms. Not that they spend much time at all in those rooms. They're basically just used for pre-bedtime book reading and sleep.


But that's the thing. They've had no one to wake them up in the middle of the night with the tossing and turning and grunts and whimpers. Joseph has occasionally shared his space with Mimi, but I'm assuming she's probably a little more considerate of a roomie than an almost-2-year-old wild child.


We've tried moving them into the same room twice in the past, both times ending in major disaster. And when I say disaster imagine hysterical screaming and gnashing of teeth at around 3 a.m. Yeah, not pretty and I imagine somewhat traumatic for all involved. But this time Joseph has his full crib, not just a pack n' play. And we spent several hours playing in that room with both of them, letting them each get used to the new set-up.

I'm hoping this transition will be an easy one, but frankly, it'll be an Easter miracle if we make it through the night 100% peacefully.

Wish us luck!


The boys are 22 months & 3 weeks (almost) old.

Chase Me! Chase Me!

Just a quickie because it's too cute not to share.

I was sitting in the rocking chair this morning with both boys giggling and walking in circles around and around me. I'm pretty sure each of them thought they were being chased by the other.

It was pretty stinking adorable.

They looooove being chased, especially since this is what happens once they're caught:



The boys will be 14 months old tomorrow!

An Evening to Myself

All three of my guys were in bed before 7 p.m. tonight. All the kiddos at daycare apparently organized a sleep strike today. (I wonder if that's a regular Monday thing... We'll see.) And Greg is sick!!!

Why the seemingly decadent use of exclamation points? Because Greg never gets sick. At least not enough to make him miss work. In fact in the 8 years he's been working at his current job, he has never once taken a sick day. Is that not insane??? Most normal people would take at least a cheat day every now and then. But not my husband. So when he called this afternoon to say he was coming home, I thought something catastrophic had happened. Somebody died. The lab blew up. Armageddon.

Nope. He's sick. So sick he couldn't even power through the remaining 2.5 hours of the work day. Wow. I had to blog this for posterity's sake.

I'm hoping for a short-lived convalescence. For all our sakes. :) Poor guy.

On a more positive note, Greg spent last night assembling one of the awesome presents a few families got for the boys for their birthdays. It was an instant hit.





I love Luke's little laugh at the end.

Every time we're at a friend's house who has these, the boys go crazy for them whether they're riding or pushing. I'm betting their obsession is what prompted these gifts so I have to say a huge thank you to some very generous friends. You know who you are! They will be well-used at Chez K. :)


The boys are already almost 13 months old. Wow. That sounds weird.


p.s. You're probably thinking in that first video, "OMG, is that Greg in his underwear??? On the interwebz???" And the answer is NO! Absolutely not. Because I love him, and I wouldn't do that to him. And I would appreciate it if you'd get your dirty, little mind out of the gutter, thankyouverymuch.

p.p.s. You totally replayed that video, didn't you?

Breaking in the New Toys

The most fun so far? Knocking down Mama's tower o' blocks!

Joseph is a bit overwhelmed with the selection.
New toys? Or mama's toes? Hmmm...

You know "they" always say that babies end up loving the box more than the toy. In this case, I'd say Luke has to agree.

He was very busy today scaling his own Mt. Everest...

...and making Mama nervous.

Up and down, up and down...

At least with twins, you have one arm for each of them. How in the world do triplet moms cope? I cannot imagine!

And later that evening...

Time for Daddy to tackle the Cozy Coupe

I have a PhD. I can totally do this!

Loosening the Reins

One side effect of the boys' party was the fact that we had to open up the kitchen so our poor guests wouldn't have to climb over baby gates, which of course forced us to finally baby-proof our kitchen. All glass, sharp stuff or anything potentially breakable was relocated to high cabinets, and tupperware is now in the island drawers.

And, let me tell you, it is a whole new world for the boys.

There has been a little more chaos, a lot more noise, and a few smooshed fingers.

But they love it!

Why didn't I do this earlier?

I might actually get some stuff done in the kitchen without having to sneak in there to avoid mad babies pushing and pulling at the gates to get in too.
What a concept!

The rolling pin is Luke's favorite

And here's a short one with the boys talking. Or rather, Luke being bossy to Joseph, who totally ignores him. :) I love how Joseph slaps the ground when he's crawling. Makes me want to cover him in kisses.




The boys are one year, 3 weeks & 2 days old.

It's Not My Fault!

This is the reason my house is always so messy:




I thought babies were supposed to be afraid of these things! Instead, mine are obsessed with them. The vacuum cleaner lives out in the garage because every time it's brought out, the boys come arunnin'. As you can see, negotiating a good cleaning is a bit of a challenge. But it sure makes for a fun time, and how often can you say that about house cleaning? :)

Luke Walks!

I mentioned that Luke took his first unassisted steps while we were at the beach a few weeks ago. Well, he's been busy perfecting his technique since then and LOOK AT HIM NOW!




I'm totally impressed with how quickly he's picked this up & how controlled he seems. Does this mean my baby's now a toddler??? EEEEEK!

The After Party

Just so you don't think we're mean parents, I thought I should include some happy boy pictures.

The guys woke up from their naps to a living room brimming with birthday presents just waiting to be ripped into.

Luke instantly honed in on his two favorite things - balls...

...and wheels.

The boy is obsessed. :)


Joseph helped us read the cards...

...and was just generally adorable.

They busted into each toy with gusto...

...and tested them all out for quality assurance purposes.

But honestly, destroying all those pretty packages was the best.

That and spreading little blue and green food dye stains on all the furniture.

Good times.

Now to find a place for all these awesome new toys. Yikes.