Peek!

While there are at least 14 billion-million-gazillion reasons why I think these boys are the most amazing things on the planet, one of my favorites is how easy it is to make them laugh. And by laugh I mean laugh. Not just a giggle or smile, an "I'm going to pee my pants this is so funny" laugh.

I don't even have to say the full "peek-a-boo". Just "peek" does the trick. Love it!

(when I play this video for the boys they are laughing just as hard!)

PEEK! January 2010 - 11 Months Old from K Schultes on Vimeo.

Do little girls do this?

The boys have completely destroyed nearly every book in the house that has flaps or makes noise. And by destroy, I mean destroy.

Do little girls destroy books like this? I'm guessing not. 

And I know what you're thinking. If you (a responsible adult) read the books with them you can prevent this from happening.

Wrong! 

With 20 of the busiest fingers you've ever seen and drool running out by the bucket load, this is not preventable. 

I have mentally started a list of replacement books I want to buy for when the boys are over the "eating" stage of book reading.

The books below were all gifts I believe. At first I felt bad that the boys have destroyed them. But in reality - it is much better this way than sitting on a shelf and not being used, right!?

This page, which previously had 3 flaps, also makes noise. 

Our flap collection, less what we ate.

Luckily Mom has the words memorized to this book, titled "10 Little Ladybugs", so we don't even miss this page.

This poor puppy. There are about 10 other poor puppies in this book with the same fate.

Notice the page says, "can you pat it?" 

Clearly the answer is "yes", we can pat it...and scratch it, eat it, lick it, and rub it.

While the other books described above are still deemed to be safe, I decided this one needed to be retired once I discovered the exposed wires.

Bonk and Kisses

Their Dad taught them how to "bonk".

I taught them how to give "kisseys".

                                  

Bonk and Kisses from K Schultes on Vimeo.

The pool will be closed for the next 24 hours

The boys take a bath every night in the big tub in our bathroom. It's all part of the nightly routine. As most parents would agree, structure and routine is the key to success survival. 

Anyway, tonight was a bit different. 

Tonight the bathtub needed a bath.

So the story goes...

Both boys in the tub. (More toys and suds than actual water.) Mom reaches in the water to grab the washcloth. Grabs a "floater" instead. Mom shrieks. Shriek scares boys. Boys cry. Dad empties tub. Dad cleans tub. Dad fills tub back up. Start over.

We tried to figure out who did the duty, but there was a problem. 

Both boys had the same look on their face.

(Maybe it's because they are identical).

I should probably start a list. A list of things one boy does...but I don't know which one. I have a feeling that list might get long. 

Mason says, "it was my brother!"

Prior says, "pooping in the bathtub is FUN!"

PS: Auntie Angie - we promise to wear diapers in your new pool this summer!

...Almost Time to Celebrate!

"We learned to laugh and squeal, then sit and stand, and now we can walk if you hold our hand. But the fun has only just begun, lookout world, we're turning ONE!"

Despite my complete denial...

(sigh)

My babies are turning 1 on February 6th. I can honestly say I enjoy every minute with these two little boys.  But why does it have to go so fast? With so much of this past year spent awake, how could that possibly be? I often think that if I take just a few more pictures or focus extra hard on taking in every minute, time will slow down. 

It's not working!

Our First Christmas, Part 2

Santa Clause followed us all the way back to Grandpa Denny and Grandma Barb's house over the New Year's weekend so we could celebrate Christmas.

It was a very cold weekend with temps below zero, but we managed to remain warm and cozy as 10 adults and 5 children shared a one bathroom farmhouse. The boys got to hang out with their cousins and Grandma and Grandpa - what could be better?! The boys made out like bandits once again. Their loot included a riding zebra that bounces, a baseball bat and tee that makes noise, a little people farm set, an Elmo book, some new clothes, more toys, and even some handmade toys from Grandma (just to name a few). 

One of my personal favorite gifts was actually the boys' behavior in the car on the way to Dedham. It is a 4 1/2 hour drive with no stops. And with almost-one-year-olds, 4 1/2 hours has the potential to feel more like 4 1/2 days. THANK YOU for being so good.  

Here we are with our cousins, Kennedy, Alli, and Miya. We are the youngest in this picture, but not for long! Cousin Miya is going to have a new baby sister in May! We are so excited!

More presents!

Uncle Jacob with Prior and Mason

Mase Man

Prior reading a story with Grandma

Prior and Mason posing with Grandpa before he heads out to feed calves. Grandpa Denny, we promise to help you with chores next year!

P/M

We are 11 Months old!

(we think our froggy humidifier is pretty cool!)

Hi Everyone, it's Prior!

Mason and I turned 11 months old last week on the 6th - how cool is that?! We think it's pretty cool but Mom says we're growing tooooo fast!

Mom said I could help write this post. Wanna know why? Because for one of the first times, I'm doing something before my brother! Any guesses to what it is?

TWO things. One - I give KISSES! But only if I feel like it, of course. My brother and I get LOTS of hugs and kisses from mom and dad. I figured out what kisses are and even will give them out every once in a while when I feel like it. They are the extra wet open-mouth kisses but beggers can't be choosers, right?! My brother doesn't do that yet!! Yippee! And two - I have officially taken my first few steps! My max is 2.5 steps before I fall but I will be running before you know it.

Here's what else is new and exciting:

• We're having a blast playing with our new toys we got for Christmas
• Mason is getting his top front teeth. His gums are very swollen and we can see his little toof poking through!
• Mom is recovering from pneumonia. She says that when people don't get enough sleep - they get sick. She made it sound like it was our fault?!! 
• And while pneumonia isn't contagious....we did catch our very first cold. We each have an ear infection. Mom is very thankful that we were able to make it 11 months before we got sick for the first time. Luckily it wasn't anything serious - just runny noses and coughs. We are trying to take lots of naps, drink lots of milk, eat lots of apples, and get better very soon.
• We like to stand on our own and walk along anything we possibly can. I'm not sure if Mason or I will walk first so you will all have to wait and see!
• We've started fighting over toys, pacifiers, and things we get into that we're not supposed to have (i.e. remotes, phones, cell phones). Mom and Dad think it's funny but it's not. When Mason steals something from me and I cry Mom and Dad tell me to steal it back. That doesn't help!

Our First Christmas, Part 1

Last weekend we celebrated Part 1 of our very first Christmas. Cara was in town from Arizona. Grandpa Don and Grandma Julie drove up before the big storm on Tuesday night. And on Wednesday we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. It was quite the storm. We received about 20 inches of snow over the course of a few days.

Christmas isn't supposed to be all about gifts. But when you're a kid let's face it - the presents are pretty important. And lucky for these two little boys, first Christmases are recession-proof! Here's a run down of what Prior and Mason got for their very first Christmas, Part 1.

Auntie Cara's Christmas gifts were bath-tub themed. Books for the bath, squirt toys, a bath tub rack for all the toys, and more books. Growing up, I had a ton of very fun bath tub books and toys. I am very excited for the boys to have the same. One of the books is even ELMO!

Grandma Julie brought us lots of fun books, toys and a cool toy that the boys can walk behind that turns into a car. It's perfect timing as they are just learning to walk. (Is that a good thing?!?)The best gift, however, was a book that she wrote just for Prior and Mason. The book is titled, "Clayton and Jasper, A Story of Twin Fawns". It is such a good book and I already know it will be one of their favorite books. I plan to post it soon so stay tuned!

Grandpa Don brought the boys several new Gymboree outfits, size 12-18 months. Perfect timing as the boys are just outgrowing the 6-12 month size clothes. Grandpa also brought the boys a giant inflatable bouncy castle filled with balls! Most things look bigger in the box/packaging than they are once put together. Not this castle! It's huge! Think Chucky Cheese! Our big finished basement is becoming more and more necessary every day...

Santa brought the boys some new socks and new Cookie Monster and Elmo bath towels.

Lucky boys!

Prior and his new push toy.

Prior opening gifts from Santa. The boys are too young yet to fully understand Christmas but they loved tearing at the paper (and trying to eat it).

Grandpa Don with Mason (l) and Prior (r)

Prior and Mason checking out their new inflatable castle! We all know how these boys like to bounce...

This is awesome!

Grandma Julie reading a new book with Mason. The book is about snowmen - very timely!

Auntie Cara with Mason and Prior

Grandpa Don feeding the boys their breakfast.

After Grandma and Grandpa left it kept snowing and snowing and snowing.  We watched Dad clear the driveway at least 3 times. Sure glad to be inside!

We've lived up in Minneapolis for almost 10 years. The first few were in an apartment and townhouse however Ben did wait a very long time to purchase the snow blower. I have always encouraged the purchase because 1) I refuse to shovel snow and 2) we have a very wide driveway. You're officially a Minnesotan when you purchase a snowblower. Maybe he was holding out hope that we'd move somewhere warmer. Last winter he broke down and made the purchase. Coming in handy you can see. Note the winter jacket (i.e. hooded sweatshirt). Clearly it's not that cold here...

Mason, Noi, and Prior

On Christmas Day we went to church. It was a WHITE Christmas!

Mason/Prior

Thank you again for the wonderful gifts - but most of all thank you for spending time with us! We love you!

Stay tuned for "Our Very First Christmas, Part 2", a traveling Christmas.