Quick update

We are off to Lubbock tomorrow, so here is a quick update before I have new posts of cousins and family. Ryan has had a very good week. He's behavior has greatly improved and I think we have made it several days without any timeouts. He is also still taking a nap every day (which has probably helped his behavior) and has been going to bed at night with no problems. We took the boys to Chuck-e-Cheese on Wedensday. Who would've thought that there would be 6 birthday parties going on in the middle of the week? Luke had a good time and Ryan enjoyed putting the tokens into the slot.

New things:

Luke calls every boy or girl that he sees "little guy." He is quite a conversationalist with other kids and will call out "wait, wait, little guy."

Luke told us on the way to ChuckeCheese that Ryan was his buddy. I said "Ryan is your buddy?" and he said "yes, he's my bro buddy."

Ryan freaks out over any bug that he sees. We had a minor ant issue on the backporch (I think they found food) and he refused to come outside. He would stand at the door and tell me that there were catepillars outside and for mama to go crush them.

Have a good week and I'll post more as things come up. I'm going to Fort Worth on Monday-Wednesday to see Tim and Stephanie and to meet Mackenna. Kent, Tara and Fyo are coming to Lubbock at the end of the week and a family picture with all of the grandkids has been scheduled. It should be interesting to see how that goes-5 kids under the age of 6. The boys will remain with Nana and Grandad the following week and Greg and I will meet them somewhere between Denver and Lubbock to pick the boys up and bring my mom back for the following week (Greg has 2 week-long out of town trips). I am looking forward to having the house to myself for more than a couple of hours for the first time in almost 3 years. Of course I will miss them, the short break will be nice.

Sunday with Ryan

As anyone could gather from my previous posts, we've been having some problems with Ryan. He is such a sweet and funny little boy, but he is also extremely stubborn and defiant. The last few weeks have been difficult for him and us. I feel that some of his problems stem from wanting attention (and some because he is 2). Luke demands attention and it is hard sometimes to give Ryan the same amount. Ryan also doesn't like to do things at home the way that Luke does (like color or play games), he likes to go places. So on Sunday, we dropped Luke off with Papa (Greg's dad) and took Ryan on the light rail. He loves trains and we have a light rail station near our house so he sees the train almost daily, but we've never taken him on it. He loved it. The plan was to take him downtown to the 16th Street Mall and eat lunch. He didn't care anything about lunch, he wanted to be done so he could get back on the train. We had a good time with him and it was so nice to have some one on one time with him. I hope to take him to the bounce house sometime soon and leave Luke at home. He loves the bounce house more than Luke and I think he would have a great time there without his brother. Below are some pictures from our little adventure.

I had planned to make cookies with Ryan on Saturday, but he chose to go with Greg to the store and Luke was very excited to stay home and make cookies with me. I have food issues (as in I'm very picky about people touching my food and how it is prepared), so I haven't been willing to let them help me cook very often. But I found the perfect cookie recipe that would give the boys the opportunity to poor ingredients into the bowl without having to actually touch any food (because I especially cringe at the idea of eating food prepared by a grubby-handed 2 year old). Luke was able to pour the eggs, sugar, M&Ms, raisins, chocolate chips, and oatmeal into the mixing bowl. He loves to help, so he thought this was great fun.

Things going on:

I'm winning the nap time battle with Ryan. I'm not ready to declare victory yet, but I have had success for almost an entire week. All I am doing is sitting in bed next to him and reading my book while he eventually falls asleep. It usually doesn't take more than 10 minutes and I get a few minutes of reading time in while I'm at it.

Luke is carrying on almost complete conversations with us. In the car today he said, "Mama, I need smarties." (as in the candy) I told him he didn't need smarties and that wasn't the way to ask. He spent the next few minutes perfecting, "Mama, can I please have some smarties." He loves to ask us questions about things and ask for more information.

Luke thinks it is funny to call us mom and dad (and sometimes Greg). I'm just glad that it's not mommy-I've always hated that word. No offense to all of the mommies out there, but it was never an option for me-it reminds me too much of the movie "Mommy Dearest" (no wire hangers!).

Ryan is our little athlete in the making. He made his first real basket today-as in he actually had to throw it in the air and aim for the hoop. However, I don't see him as a basketball star-he has too many short genes in his system-maybe he'll be the next Avery Johnson instead (former Dallas Mavericks coach).

Lastly, a picture of the boys playing in Greg's car. He took them out to help wash my car, but they had a good time playing in his car instead.

A Fit-Throwing Week

Not a whole lot has been going on with us lately. Ryan throws several fits on a daily basis (he had 2 timeouts at Target today) and Luke continues to shriek and scream when Ryan just looks at him funny. Greg had 2 glasses of wine earlier this week and commented on how the noise/fights don't pierce his eardrums quite so much with the wine - I totally agree. We did go another bike ride on Saturday and went to a nearby park on Sunday that we hadn't visited before. Greg went out of town Monday - Wednesday and I had the pleasure of having them as my only company. Overall, it was fine - just a lot of fighting and screaming, made worse by the cold weather which has not allowed us to go outside. I did take them Chick-fil-a today (or Chicken-lay as Luke calls it) for lunch and to play on their indoor playground. I've also realized how much Luke loves to play games (Animal Scramble, Memory, puzzles), so we went to Target today to find some that were age appropriate. Below are pictures from this past week.

For something different to do this week, we played dress up with Halloween costumes. It wasn't as peaceful as it looked. Initially Luke wanted to be Batman, so I dressed Ryan up in Robin - but then Luke changed his mind and threw a major fit because he wanted to be Robin. Thankfully, Ryan doesn't care about such things, so he was fine to change into Batman.

Luke drew this picture of his family on Saturday. He told me it was "Mama, Daddy, Luke and Ryan walking on the sidewalk." I did help him with the K, but he did the L, U, and E himself, as well as the rest of the picture. This will definitely be framed soon.

Luke coloring with markers.

Ryan doing the same.

Ryan at the playground.

Fearless Luke.

Another thing we did this weekend was transfer our home movies onto DVDs. All 4 of us had so much fun watching videos of Baby Luke and Baby Ryan. Most of what we watched was from when the boys were 6-12 months of age. It amazing to watch how much they've grown (and in Luke's case shrink in fatness). Greg said he thought it was funny how calm we were on the videos-we just sat and watched them played and it was so quiet. I know people have said that the first year with twins is the hardest, but I'd have to say I miss those days. They were a lot more work back then, but they didn't scream, hit, bite, or talk back - so in that way, it is a lot harder now.

Lastly, a video of Luke playing a game. A counselor from school gave me a spelling game that she had used with her kids. I don't know what age it is for, but Luke loved it-Ryan didn't. I was surprised to see how well he knows his lower-case letters. He loves to be challenged and gets so excited when he plays games.

P.S. Nighttime battle is over and we won! They are both asleep within 10-30 minutes after going to bed. Ryan still cries, but only for a few seconds now, but Luke is completely silent. I have now tackled naptime. Luke is almost always a good napper, but Ryan is not (although at school they say he is the first to fall asleep). For the past 2 days, I've put him in my bed (with no Sesame Street or Thomas) and sat in bed reading my book with him until he has fallen asleep. It took about 30 minutes yesterday but less than 5 today. I'm determined to win this battle, as well.

Bedtime Saga Continues

Greg was gone for part of the week, so I got to battle the bedtime routine by myself. Luke is cured - I don't know exactly what worked for him, but he is no longer a problem. Ryan, however, is still as stubborn as ever. We've had to make it where he can no longer open his door in order to make him stay in his room (if not he will come out a hundred times). As a result, he has been screaming at the door for anywhere from 5-20 minutes before finally giving in. On Monday he cried for about 5 minutes and then I didn't hear anything for about 30 minutes, but he then started screaming "tuck in" for about 20 minutes. I know his routine, if I had gone in his room he would pull the same thing over and over again, so I had to ignore him. When I went in their room before I went to bed, Ryan wasn't in his bed. It took me a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, but then I found him in Luke's bed, sleeping with his brother. We found him in the same place last night, as well. Tonight, all has been quiet. But they are really tired. I had to work all day today (from 7 this morning to 7:30 tonight), so Greg took them out to dinner and then to Chic-fil-a for their playground and ice cream. Greg said they had an absolute blast and Luke screeched every time he came down the slide. Due to this, they are really tired and that has so far kept Ryan quiet.

Yesterday I took the boys to a kids' art studio for something different to do. Below are pictures. Luke was more into the art stuff, Ryan was more fascinated with how the record player worked (used for art, I guess).

Afterwards I took the boys to the mall for lunch. I had about 30 seconds of total panic when I lost Luke. I had managed to park on the complete opposite side of the food court so I was having to drag the boys through the mall. Luke became fascinated with the fountain and I told him to come on. About 3 steps later, I turned around expecting him to be right with me (because he normally sticks close), but he was gone. I didn't see him anywhere. I picked up Ryan and started running around the fountain yelling his name. Turned out he had gone the opposite direction that I had gone and had been stopped by 2 very nice ladies who noticed he was saying "mama." I hope their judgement of me went away when they noticed I was already carrying one 2 year old. I'm afraid the harnesses will have to make a comeback with Luke, he is so fast and sneaky. On a funny note of the mall visit: after lunch I took the boys to the Disney Store and got them a new Lighting McQueen shirt. The cashier gave both boys their own bag to carry and I paid while keeping an eye on Ryan who was carrying around a Sleeping Beauty doll. When we got home, I took the shirts out and found that Luke had stolen (not that he knows what that means) a High School Musical baseball from the store and had put it in his bag.

This last weekend we had great weather so the four of us went out on our first family bike ride. Greg got to pull the trailer this time.

Below are other pictures from this past week.

Ryan on his bicycle. He likes to wear his bike helmet backwards.

Luke has almost got writing his name down. He totally gets the L, U, and E. He has trouble with the K, but this has been his best attempt.

Luke gave the time-out timer a time out yesterday.

Greg reading Dr. Seuss to the boys tonight before bed.

Last but not least: Happy Birthday, Olivia! I can't believe that she turned 6 years old yesterday.

She is having a rainbow themed birthday party on Sunday, so I made her rainbow cookie party favors. I just wish we could be there!

I'm off tomorrow, so I hope to have a relaxing day and weekend with the boys.

Sweet Brothers

The boys fight alot, but they are also so sweet to each other. Today, Luke told Ryan, "I love you bro." And then he told me and Greg, "I love Ryan." They then spent part of the morning chasing each other around to give the other one a hug. They also went to the playroom together holding hands.


Other things that have been going on:

Ryan saw President Obama on TV the other day and said, "That's Obama." Luke then said, "he's a present." I had tried to teach them during the inauguration that Obama is our new president; however, Luke thought I was talking about presents (which he very much loves).

As I've mentioned before, we've been having bedtime battles lately. Greg and I have both decided that we are no longer going to be manipulated (mostly by Luke) into going into their bedroom every 5 minutes or sitting in their bedroom for an hour and a half until the fall asleep. As a result, we decided we would let them cry it out. Here is a recap of the last few days.

• The first night Luke screamed for about 30 minutes and then he was tired enough for me to put him back to bed and he fell fast asleep.
• The second night he threw another fit but we did not go into their room. Ryan came downstairs and kept saying "bro." I took Ryan back upstairs and started to get a little nervous that something was wrong with Luke because Ryan was visibly upset about him. When I went into the room, Luke had cried himself into complete exhaustion and had fallen asleep with his head on his bed, but still standing on the floor. I put him in bed and he then slept all night.
• The third night, Ryan and Luke decided they would have a party. We went up once and had to turn their light off. We didn't hear anything from them for almost an hour (thinking success, it worked, their asleep). At about 9, I heard beeping and knew it was from the telephone in our bedroom. When I went upstairs, I found both boys in our bed (heads on pillows and under the covers) watching TV and playing with the phone.
• Last night, the boys came out once and tried to pull the same stunt again but were quickly caught. Luke then went sleep, but Ryan screamed for an hour. I gave in with him because he had taken a really late nap and he doesn't normally act like that. I let him come downstairs with me while we finished a movie and he fell asleep in my arms.
• Tonight: no problem with Luke (who was the problem to begin with), but Ryan threw another major tantrum. Greg and I took turns holding the door knob so he couldn't come out, but with him screaming "open the door" on the other side. After only 30-40 minutes, he is asleep. Sounds cruel, I know. But it is also cruel punishment for us to not get them to bed-now everyone can wake up happy. I'll keep you posted on how the bedtime saga continues.

We are all totally bummed that Nana and Grandad couldn't visit this weekend. They had plane tickets and bags packed to come, but Nana got the flu and was uninvited. We all wanted to see them, but we (and the rest of Colorado) are not interested in getting the horrible flu virus going around Lubbock (which hits people whether they got the flu shot or not). Fortunately, Spring Break is coming up soon and we will visit for a whole week. The boys might actually stay a week longer by themselves because Greg is going to be out of town the entire following week and this will allow me to still work my normal schedule and not have to worry about getting them to their school.

By the way-I still have a job. My position was saved for at least another school year. We'll see what happens this time next year-but the registration fee for preschool will not go to waist.

Today we took the boys to the school musical. It was Footloose so there was some hope that they would be entertained enough to behave. They did great the first act - Luke fell asleep and Ryan was mostly interested (in the show and his animal crackers). But by the time intermission was over, Luke was awake and Ryan wanted to get on stage so bad that he started to throw a fit when it was time to sit down. We took that as a cue to get out - but it was a fun and different outing for us and them.

Nothing major is coming up this week-hopefully I'll have nothing out of the ordinary to report. Greg will be gone part of the week and I'm making about 3 dozen cookies for Olivia's 6th birthday party on Saturday (she wants rainbows). Other than that-things will hopefully be quiet. Have a great week.

Nice Day at Home

The boys and I enjoyed the best weather today. It was in the upper 60s with no wind and sunny. As a result, the boys spent their morning and afternoon in the backyard. Their favorite place to play is not in their wonderful playhouse (which they do still love), but in the doghouse. They like to both crawl in there, play with rocks, and talk to each other. It is really quite funny. We also had the wonderful opportunity today to babysit Baby Thomas. I had so much fun playing with him and watching him watch the boys. He is a really good baby and it was a nice change from 2 year old behavior. Below are pictures from today and this week.

Ryan in the playhouse.

Can you see Luke's red nose. It is from his chalk, which he carries all over the backyard.

I wanted Ryan to put his hat on before he went outside, in his usual comedic way chose to put on 3 hats.

Luke pulling Ryan in the wagon.

Luke said, "My turn, bro."

Baby Thomas sleeping in Ryan's bed-it wasn't that long ago that Ryan slept like that (in that same blanket).

Ryan playing with his cousin.

Luke drew a slide. Can you see it, as well as himself, Ryan and Daddy on it?

This is from earlier in the week when Luke was in one of his clingy moods. He wanted to hold Daddy's hand, so here is Greg standing next to Luke while I was getting dinner ready, holding Luke's hand.

Isn't he such a handsome little Ryan? What happened to my baby?

Lastly, is a video of Luke drawing tonight. He draws his best pictures on his magnadoodle because he likes to erase when he messes up. I was hoping for a short video, but he was being quite a perfectionist tonight, so it took a little while.

Doing the Normal Routine Thing

We have had a pretty normal week around here. I took the boys to the Bounce House on Monday and met a friend from work with her two girls. The boys had a blast being led around by an 8 and 11 year old. It was the first time I've been able to go and just sit and watch - a nice change. We also had to register for Preschool for next year on Friday. I'm not sure if I'm still going to have a job or not next year, but we need to reserve our spot. I should find out by the end of next week if I'll still be working at the same school. The district has told my principal he has to cut 5 1/2 positions - so I might be one of them. I know the national economy is bad, but I am continually shocked at the incredibly poor state of Colorado's funding on education. I had no idea Texas was such a progressive state in education - but it is light years ahead on funding and policies. I'll stop ranting now.

The boys aren't doing anything too new or exciting, just continually adding new words and phrases to their vocabulary. Ryan has been our little drama king/actor since the very beginning and he cracks us up daily on the new things he says or does. His favorite thing to tell me now when I ask him to something is: "No, Mama, I busy" or "Ah, no, Mama" or "I don't think so, Mama." He also has this great pouty expression that he does along with it and he often sighs in exasperation and looks at the ground when we tell him to do something. We often have to hide our faces from him so he can't see us smile and laugh; however, he knows he is quite funny which is why keeps "improving" his attitude.

We have begun a new night time battle with the boys. Ryan likes to come out of his room and Luke likes to scream. It now often takes an hour to get them to sleep. I don't know what happened or where we went wrong. They used to go to sleep with little to no issues. Part of the problem is that Luke is very manipulative and throws major tantrums to continue to delay falling asleep (he wants to come downstairs with us), and once he gets really worked up he becomes inconsolable. We are working on it, we need the little bit of time we get after they go to bed for ourselves.

To end a positive note - one of most favorite things to do with them is to sing Wheels on the Bus almost nightly. Luke gets on his horse and Ryan sits on a stuffed fire engine and the four of us sing the song along with the motions. They love to sing and I love to hear their little sweet voices. Below are pictures from this past week.

Luke talking to Nana and Grandad on the computer. They read him a Dr. Seuss book and captured his attention.

Ryan loves to put on our shoes and walk around the house. He's wearing my boots here, but it is even better when he wears the boots with a heel.

You can't tell from this picture, but their room is dark. I walked in after bedtime this week and Luke was drawing in the dark.

Sweet picture of Baby Cousin Thomas at almost 3 months old.

Finally, below if the video of the boys playing Animal Scramble. Luke shows his competitive side by running from animal to animal, while Ryan shows how he does things at his pace only.