"TOO"

The word "too" gets used constantly in our house.

One of the boys says "up please too" (sounds like up-ee-too) whenever the other is being held. And 100% of the time, it happens every time. It is becoming increasingly harder and harder to hold them both at the same time.

The other night I told Mason he was making a mess. He then began picking up legos one by one and throwing them (fast-pitch style) and saying:

"mess. mess. mess."

Prior noticed and started doing the same only he said:

"mess too. mess too. mess too."

Mason had an owie on his finger. I was giving him attention and kissing it to make it "ahh-betta". Prior then said:

"owie too" and showed me his finger.

The list goes on and on. Pretty much whatever one brother is doing, the other wants to do. So the versions of "too" and "me too" get used constantly.

This is true even with Ben and I.

Ben says "I'm tired".

And I say "Me too".

Before I know it, it will be "car, too" and "college tuition, too".

Chistmas Cards

Wow! December has been...well...BUSY!!


I've always loved receiving Christmas cards but this year was especially fun because P&M enjoyed them as much (or more) than I did. The amazing part is that they remember who is who (even people they've never met) and repeat their names after being told only once. The mind of a two year-old amazes me each and every day (times two!)


I usually just accumulate the cards in a basket on the counter, but this year I strung them up on the wall in the kitchen with a long ribbon and some fun clothes pins I made. You know...with all of my free time. This was inspired by a project I saw on a blog last year - check it out here.


So thank you to everyone that sent us a card! Isn't it fun to choose your favorites?! The most exciting card we received this year was an announcement - we're going to have a new baby cousin in June! Yippee!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours....

Lots of fun stories to catch up on. Stay tuned this week!

Park

Noi will occasionally send me picture texts of what the boys are up to during the day. 


(Clearly it makes my day.) 


Today I came across this one taken this summer and I realized that it would be a long time before we were back at the park in our whiteys and cargo shorts. 

I love this pic - they look so happy!

Especially since the high today was 5 degrees and we got almost 20 inches of snow this weekend alone - and it's only December. 


Time to start filling up the calendar in January and February with some trips to the Children's museum, indoor playgrounds, and play dates with friends. Can't wait!


Who am I kidding? We all know spring in MN doesn't arrive until at least April. 


I think I need a better attitude about winter!

Thank*ful*ness

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Relaxation, food, and lots of family time.

So many things to be thankful for. I truly feel like the luckiest person in the world every single day because of these two little boys. 

We had such a fun weekend. My mom and I shared the cooking duties so it was totally stress-free....and so yummy!

Apparently the boys don't remember last year's turkey. This is the "mom - what the hell is that thing" look. It is so fun to be a part of all of their "firsts". They crack me up!

What could possibly be better than the Thanksgiving Day Parade parade (um - Mom, you're in the way of the TV) and a little strawberry milk to hold you over until the big meal? 

The spread. The boys don't typically get many options. So they literally stared at the plate for the first several minutes and looked at me a bit confused. 

They definitely did not appreciate this meal as much this year as they will in years to come. 

Notice the most important condiment - the ketchup. 

Most meals these days get sent back to the kitchen without it.

I've mentioned this before - but the boys really like strawberry milk. And by really, I mean really. I'd love to say it's a secret family recipe but it's nothing more than than frozen strawberries thrown in a blender with organic 2% milk). Their excitement level over something so simple is absolutely hilarious. 

This video captures a fraction of their excitement. Those of you who have seen it first hand know exactly what I'm talking about.

Strawberry Milk!! from K Schultes on Vimeo.

Transition Time

Remember these innocent little baby beds?

[big sigh]

They're not cuttin' it anymore.

My "babies" are now monkeys.


Any guesses on who the ringleader is?


This guy.

Mason.

The sleep sacks have always had numerous benefits. They now have one less.


They no longer keep my [little tiny innocent baby] boys in their cribs.

We knew this time was coming, but hoped it wasn't for a long long time.


The video monitor has come in very handy. To A) see how they escape; and B) see when they escape.


There is no loud "thud". It's fast and silent. It looks so fluid and effortless. Reminds me of the way my dad parallel parks.


And before you know it, the room is turned upside down and inside out.

So Ben and I started thinking about big boy beds. This was really tough! If my boys are in cribs, they're still babies. Big boy beds? I'm not ready. But since Mason decided otherwise, I picked out two beds from IKEA.


Hauled them home. (Thank goodness for the Tahoe).


Spent hours putting one together.


The boys played on it like a jungle gym.

Ben asked if we should put the other one together.

I said no.

He asked why.

I said because I decided I didn't like it. (It clearly was designed as a bed. Not a piece of playground equipment). 


The last thing we need in that bedroom is playground equipment.

That didn't go over very well.

But I won he agreed and we took it apart (with the help of two little boys).

If it was up to me...

the bed would have been in between one and three pieces (the minimum number of pieces required to somehow get it in the car to return it).

But - everyone's different.

So Ben decided to put it back in it's original box.

Who does that? 


Nothing ever goes back into it's original packaging. Except, I guess, beds from IKEA.

Good news! 

The beds were successfully returned. I found another option and the order has been placed. Thankfully, delivery and installation is included. More details and pictures once it arrives!

Mini Mom-cation

Lots to catch up on! I hope to make some time for that this weekend - in between eating, of course.

Very quickly - I got together with my college roomies last weekend for our annual girls weekend. Julie, Andi, and Jenny. We had suuuuuch a great time. Spent lots of money, shared lots of laughs, talked lots of girl talk, and even went out on the town! Just like old times. Well, kinda.


Could these girls be any cuter!?

Call off the DNA testing

The boys have always been easy for me to tell apart. Granted, sometimes I have to look closely, but I am never not sure for more than a second or two. And I'm pretty good with telling them apart in pictures, too.

But if there was any question as to whether they are fraternal or identical, I think these pictures taken by ATP clear things up. No DNA testing needed!!

(We do know for sure that they are identical).

Quick story on this topic:

So last week after work the boys were running around our bedroom at about a mile a minute. Mason tripped, fell, and started crying. Prior saw it happen and instantly dropped to the ground and started fake-crying too.

And we have seen a few instances of this copycatting since then.

Kind of hard not to laugh...this twin thing is so much fun!

Helpful

The boys are saying everything these days. Variations of the word "help" get used frequently.

Like when the boys unfold all of the laundry that I just folded, they say "helping".

When they want help opening a closet that they're not supposed to be in...or when they're trying to climb up onto the island in the kitchen - they say "help please".

On Friday night we drove back to Dedham to see Grandma and Grandpa Schultes and uncle Jacob.

The boys demonstrated their helpfulness by finding a good movie to watch.

So helpful!

Curious George (pl.) and the Man in the Yellow Hat

We spent Halloween weekend in Iowa - costumes and all. The boys learned very quickly what "candy" is. They were even able to get a little taste by chewing through some of the wrappers. I know, I'm such a mean mom. The weather was great and we had a blast in Ankeny. My camera battery was dead so I relied on my backup photographer, Noi. But with 6 kiddos under 6 years old, we didn't get any group shots of the cousins - bummer! The boys had a blast playing with their cousins this weekend!

Oh - and like the glasses? I'm getting lasik this week!!

Prior - the Man - Mason

Mommy and Mason

Trick-or-treated out.

Mason with his stash...that mommy and daddy ate.

Mason and Noi

Thank goodness for the wagon!

Thankfully family pictures were last weekend...

What a great weekend! We traveled south - first stopping in Rochester. We watched auntie Cara coach her 9th grade volleyball team at a tournament, had lunch with Cara, Cory, and Grandma Julie, and got to see my friend Kristi's new place. Then we headed further south to Decorah. We had dinner with Grandma Julie and Great-Grandma Wall. And on Sunday we went to brunch to celebrate Grandpa Don's birthday.

I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures, but did get a few on the trampoline at Grandpa Don's. The boys freakin' love that thing... And it was so funny to see all of their hair sticking up. I know...I know...some of you have strong feelings about me cutting their hair.

So Prior tripped over his own two feet while we were at Cara's volleyball tournament and obviously didn't catch himself before he scraped up his nose. He was pretty tough - no real tears. These pictures were taken before Prior intentionally jumped headfirst off the couch once we got home on Sunday night and peeled a big chunk of skin off his nose. Seriously!? It looks much worse now. Thankfully we took family pictures last weekend!

Prior and his mile-high mullet

The side view

Mason

Mason - mid JUMP!

Here's to many more of the "minor" injuries!

Most days it feels like there are four of them...

The boys discovered how to crawl up on the toilet and reach for the faucet long ago. They've just been patiently awaiting until they were tall enough to turn the water on and off.

That time has come.

[As a side note, the excitement associated with getting into trouble is somewhat frightening.]

This picture describes our life: little boys getting into trouble. And most days it feels like there are four of them...

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday we went to the Edina Realty pumpkin patch party. The boys dressed up as Elmo (thanks Auntie Cara!). They don't love the Elmo costumes so when I was able to get them on while we were still at home I didn't want to take them off before the party. So they had to ride in their car seats with them on. I guess the hood part of the costume (i.e. Elmo's head) was kind of in the way. I couldn't help but laugh! Poor Prior is just trying to watch the Elmo DVD but Elmo's head is in the way!

As you can see, the boys aren't exactly thrilled in this picture. It may have had something to do with the long sleeved shirt, the pants, and the Elmo snowsuit on a gorgeous 85 degree Minnesota day. They know better than to complain, though. Complaining about the heat in MN is against the law - especially in October!

Missing: Remotes

In the master bedroom we have 2 remotes. One for the ceiling fan and one for the tv. One day, both remotes went missing. To be honest, this happens almost daily. There is no drawer, dresser, or bed that is safe from Jungle Jim 1 and 2. So when the remotes were missing on Saturday, we checked all of the usual places (i.e. any other room in the house, under the bed, under the covers, the closet, dresser drawers, laundry, etc.) No luck. The remotes (again, not one but both) were officially missing.

And then it came time to empty the diaper champ.

And guess what was inside!?

Two remotes (thankfully they were on top).

I wonder what else "we've" thrown away over the last six months?!

Stirred not Shaken

Apparently Gus likes his water stirred. Mason is so helpful!

(I'll spare you the pictures of the time(s) we caught the boys eating his food.)

Best Friends!

I have nooooooooo idea who taught them this.

(clearly the highlight of my day!)

"Who's your Best Friend?" from K Schultes on Vimeo.

1st Hair Cuts

Well, kinda.

I trimmed P&M's bangs because they were in their eyes. But we made a family decision to leave the mullets untouched.

I.just.can't.bring.myself.to.cut.them.yet.

Everyone always asks how we tell the boys apart. I say it's hard to describe - I just know. Apparently their hair was one of the ways. Prior had longer bangs. Not anymore! They are even tougher to tell apart now after the trims!

Mason - before the cut!

Action Shot