You like apples, how 'bout these apple!

Today we went apple picking with our local twins group.  We headed to a great organic orchard in the Santa Cruz mountains that was perfect for a few hours of family fun.  The day before this adventure, I checked the weather to see what the picture prospects were going to be like (lame, I know, but I knew we were going to be there midday and I was hoping for a little forgiveness from the beating sun).  You can imagine my excitement when I saw that it might rain! After living in AZ, and now CA for the last several years, rain is a kind of a big deal.  It creates that feeling of coziness and sluggishness that snow days used to provide and that I kind of crave that feeling every once in awhile.  You know the kind of feeling I am talking about, the days where you want to make soup, bake cookies, and stay on the couch watching movies all day?!  I can't remember last time it rained here or the last time we got to be outside in the rain so I was excited to see that today may be our chance.  It was great to be outside in the cool air, running from tree to tree, picking as much fruit as the boys cold carry, and taking random bites of apples as quickly as they could.  They could not get enough of the whole experience and neither could I.

Last night, Chris and I told the boys that we were going apple picking today to try and get them excited for our adventure.  The boys have picked apples off Aunt Kathy's tree so they kind of knew what to expect and had a point of reference.  Brody and Brady must have said 'apple' 50 times before they went to sleep last night, and Brody said it again at 2 am when I went in to help him get back to sleep.  At the orchard both boys repeated 'apple' over and over, to every passerby, and to every adult and child that would listen.  Brody really enjoyed reaching high into the trees and grabbing for the fruit.  Brady loved plucking the apples off the tree but was confused by the water falling from the sky. I repeatedly had to tell him that it was rain and it was OK (a sign these boys need to see a bit more weather variety perhaps?!).  I guess we did not need to prepare them all that much because they were already super excited about going to pick apples.

The excitement continued after we got home.  Every time we said the word 'apple", Brody would reach his arms as high as he could, throw his head back, and mime picking fruit.  I hope this new behavior sticks around for awhile!   We had so much fun we are talking about going back in a few weeks!

You Make Me So Very Happy: 21 Month Update

This age is the best!  Yes, it does come with some tantrums (our tantrums [so far]seem to be the "peaceful protest" variety where the boys just decide to go limp and melt into a pile of liquid when they don't want to do something) but it also comes with an unbridled awareness and interest in the world.  I love that you can practically see their little minds putting things together.  It seems to go in this pattern: one day they learned the word for something (e.g. star), the next day the bring you a star and say the word in association with the object, the next day they spot a star someplace they never noticed it before (e.g. in a book, on a shirt, on a bed sheet) and they point frantically and repeat over and over again "STAR, STAR, STAR".  When this happens, I am not sure who is more excited, me or them.  They are certainly excited to be able to communicate more and more, but I am super excited that I (1) understand what they are saying and (2) that I can see the wheels in their minds turning. 

We had a couple of mystery sayings that I finally figured out (resulting in an actual happy dance after cracking the code).  Brady has been saying the word "boppy" for a long time.  He rolls off his lips so cute and sweet that I make him repeat it frequently.  I've asked him to show me the 'boppy', point to the 'boppy' and basically all other kind of questions to try and ferrite out what this word may be referencing.  Finally one day I got it.  A 'boppy' is a robot.  I have no idea how this word got lodged into his brain or how it got transmogrified into something like 'boppy', but I picked him up and swung him around when we finally cracked the code.  He was equally as giddy!  Now I call robots boppies.  I know this is a clear no-no according to the parent handbook, but I can't help it!

For a long time, Brody has been saying what sounds like "Opa" at seemingly random instances.  Every time he says it Chris and I repeat it back in a loud uproarious voice and we raise our hands, kind of like we are toasting with ouzo in Greece (or, more like we are reenacting a seen in My Big Fat Greek Wedding).  Finally one day I realized "Opa" is really "Up above the" from Twinkle Twinkle.  Again, pure delight on both of our parts when I finally got it (though I do miss the excuse for random toasts to be had in the living room upon the saying of this word).

By far my most favorite word that the boys say is 'happy'.  They say it so very sweetly and at just the right times.  I think they have learned this word from a variety of places but mainly from me singing "You are my Sunshine" to them at night and before naps.  I have never been one to know the correct lyrics to songs, and even though I do actually know most of the words to this song, I still make up my own lyrics to avoid playing favorites.  I never sing the correct line "my only sunshine"; instead I say "my darling sunshine" (silly I know, but these are the things moms of multiples think about).  One day while I was singing, Brody started to repeat the word 'happy' after me.  Now both boys say 'happy' when I ask if they had fun, when I say 'I love you' or when I say 'birthday'.  A few days ago we had a particularly memorable evening on the beach with the boys and the dogs.  It was just one of those awesomely fun outings where everyone had a great time.  When we were putting the boys to bed, Brady was half asleep on my arm and just as I was about to set him down, his eyes shot open and he looked right at me and said "HAPPY".  You pretty much had to mop me up off the floor after that.  I don't think any other moment could make me feel as good as I did right then.

At this particular developmental time frame, the rate at which the boys learn new words and are able to repeat new words will never cease to amazing me.  My nickname since the first few months Chris and I started dating has been Nerdel.  It's kind of a combination of 'nerd' and 'turtle' (the way he wished I road my bike after I crashed three times) and he used to exclusively call me this.  The other day I swear I heard Brady say Nerdel.  Today I know for sure he said it again and when I asked him who Nerdel was and he pointed to me.  You could have peeled Chris and me off the floor we were laughing so hard!

One more funny thing that the boys say that I want to remember is the word 'naughty'. Perhaps I have to use this word a little too often or on a daily basis?  Whatever the reason, the boys like to repeat it back to me when I tell them something is "naughty".  This inevitably results in me giggling and me losing my street credit when reprimanding them for their antics.  They also like to growl at me when I am speaking  in a gruff voice because they did something wrong.  This too causes me to crack a smile and not only breaks the tension, but also makes me lose my train of thought.  I believe they have outsmarted me in this arena.

Speaking of outsmarting, both boys have learned to open door knobs.  They can let themselves out of their own room when I am trying to corral them for diaper changes and bedtime.  They can spring the dogs if they are sleeping in the master bedroom and they can run into their own room and wake their sleeping brother if they happen to be up first.  It is basically mayhem here, 24/7.

My last funny memory from this month is that they boys spend a ridiculous amount of time throwing stuffed animals into each others' beds when they are supposed to be going to sleep for nap time.  I can hear them giggling and laughing and yelling to each other as they pelt one another with plushies.  I have also witnessed that when one wakes up, the first thing they do is stand up, yell for their brother and throw a stuffed animal onto the sleeping baby.  It is funny and a little sad.  Usually it is Brady who wakes up second so now I know that his sleep has been cut short by his brother who just cannot wait another moment for his partner in crime to wake up!  Today I moved their cribs to they are not touching anymore.  I am hoping this will stop the antics and the early wake ups (I know, I'm so lame).

Such silly boys!  Can't wait to see what next month brings to us!

(Side note: the abundance of black and white pictures is due to a 30 day photo challenge my friend Amy encouraged me to do as a way to improve my black and white photography skills.  It has almost perfectly corresponded with month 20-21, hence the large photo bomb below.  It has been a great fun and has given me many many pictures to remember this month by!) 

Last but not least, I had a birthday this weekend!  We celebrated with a day of family fun that included being on the beach for an amazing sunset.  What a great way to ring on this new year!

Travel Adventures Part 2: Put your hands up for Detroit

We landed in Detroit after a very simple 2 hour flight.  The boys were great and I think they enjoyed the lap/uninterrupted play time they got with each parent.

After we landed and retrieved our rental car, we decided to head to Ann Arbor for a quick bite and to stretch our legs before driving the rest of the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We immediately stopped at Zingermans for a late lunch and to stock up on all of our favorite treats that we look forward to getting once a year.  We ate, walked around a bit, and then headed the rest of the way to the McLean's.    It goes without saying that the boys were super excited to see Grandma and Grandpa again.  They loved ransacking the house and discovering that there was a whole room filled with toys.  It must have seemed magical to their little eyes.

One of the highlights of this trip was that the boys got to play with their cousins.  It was awesome to have some older kids around to dote over and entertain Brady and Brody.  It also helped that there were a couple of parks very close by the cousins were able to play indoors and outdoors.  Brody and Brady were mesmerized by all the available cool toys, especially the bikes and scooters.  I think that their cousins won extra cool points for being able to ride around so effortlessly.

We took a mini road trip up to Brenda and Steve's house to spend some quality time with them and try out their new boat.  They live on an amazing river and they have a great pontoon boat that allows them to enjoy all that their backyard has to offer.  We were excited to let the boys ride on a boat and to show them all the cool water birds.  Brody really loved driving the boat but both boys were a little miffed that there was so much wind blowing through their hair.  Apparently they were concerned about their hair styles?  For whatever the reason, it took them a bit to warm up to the idea of being on a boat, but once they did they seemed to like it!  I look forward to doing it again!

Chris and I took advantage of Grandparent babysitters and some awesome restaurants and went out on a date.  We decided to head into Ann Arbor for an amazing dinner.  It was really one of the nicer dinners we have had together and had all the components of a real date.  It was a dimly lit restaurant, we ordered a bottle of Champagne, and the meal was leisurely!  I am glad we took some time out for ourselves.

Not to sound like a broken record, but we headed back to Ann Arbor one more time to take the boys to the Children's Center.  We had a great time letting them investigate the awesome ball contraptions, the fire trucks, and the water tables. Afterwards, we headed to the University of Michigan store to stock up on some new Michigan gear.  After a fun filled day, we jetted back home just in time for a wonderful dinner party with all of Chris's extended family.  It was so great to see everyone and to introduce the boys to many more members of their family.  It made going home very hard knowing there are so many people to play with in Michigan.

A couple of memories I want to document:
1.  The boys had a lot of trouble sleeping while we were in MI for various reasons.  They slept in the same room as us so when they woke up in the morning, typically before I was ready to get up, I could hear the sweet sound of one on my son's voices saying "Mom" and usually I could feel a little hand on my foot.  It was kind of cute.  I felt like each day they were genuinely surprised that they could see me from their pack n plays and liked knowing I was so close.
2.  One day during nap time, I heard a lot of crying way before they should have been awake.  When I went into their room to investigate, I heard the song "Put your hands up for Detroit" blaring from the ipad.  We have almost no songs on the ipad so the fact that this song was blaring was both ironic and kind of creepy.  I have NO idea how this song ended up coming on but it was kind of eerie and funny.
3.  Chris and I both had food poisoning on the flights home.  Needless to say, that was an unfortunate way to travel.  Luckily we had the foresight to upgrade our seats on the flight home so we had plenty of room to let the boys stand in front of us and play.  Without those little respites, I'm not sure I would have made it.  Also, I know why they still put barf bags in the seat back pockets.  Not a mystery any longer. 

Travel Adventures Part 1: New York State of Mind (with a little bit of New Jersey and Conneticut)

We have returned from our cross-country adventure!  We took off for 10 days to see friends and family New York and Michigan.  It was a wonderful trip and I am so glad it came together as well as it did.  That being said, I can't say that any of us are anxious to fly across country any time soon.  I hope this feeling is like the memory of childbirth and it slowly fades over time, so much so, that surprisingly after a year or two, you actually want to do it again.  That has to be what happens, right,  because clearly people have more than one kid and people take more than one trip?!

Our trip started with a red eye from San Fransisco to Newark.  We planned our first flight this way hoping it would work to our advantage.  We figured that the boys would be tired on the plane and maybe they would sleep through the bulk of the flight.  Our plan was foiled a bit by they fact that our flight was delayed for 5 hours.  We spent most of those 5 hours looking out the window at airplanes (we really got a lot of miles out of the coolness factor of being so close to the airplanes).  We also spent a fare amount of time pacing with the boys in their stroller.  For this trip, we let the boys watch videos on our phones (a novel activity for them).  For a long time, the boys sat with their heads touching, crouched over a single cell phone, watching Sesame Street while passersby smiled at their cuteness.  It was so nice to see that their normal antics could bring smiles to strangers faces.

Even though we boarded the plan 5 hours past their bed time, the boys had trouble falling asleep on the plane for a variety of reasons.  First, they were still very excited by the newness of everything.  Second, our airplane had TVs in the seat backs which caused the boys to be be drawn to the blinking lights and constant animation.  The constant streaming kept roping the boys into watching, pointing, and oohing and ahhing at every flicker.  It was not until about an hour into the flight when it was announced how to turn the TVs off that boys were able to zone out.  Third, another passenger could not help herself from playing peekaboo with Brody.  This game went on for about 20 minutes, during which time he giggled and laughed.  It was a tad difficult to settle him down after that.  And last, about 45 minutes into the 5 hour flight, I spilled a pint of milk all over myself.  Being that I was sitting in a middle seat with a sleeping person to my right and no one to hand my toddler to, I was forced to just grin an bear it for the duration of the flight.  Let's just say I smelled less than fresh by the time we landed!  All in all, the flight actually went by pretty quickly and we were happy when we landed on the east coast!

After the overnight flight, we headed for a much needed bit of fun with my long-time friend.  One of my best girlfriends moved to New Jersey , about 40 minutes away from the airport and  en-route to my parents house (so convenient of her!).  It had been 4 years since I have seen this friend and during the passing 4 years, we each had two kids that the other has not met.  We still talk all the time so it does not feel like it had really been 4 years since we have seen each other.  She insisted that no matter how tired or smelly we were, we had to stop by and she was right.  It was heaven visiting with her and her family in their adorable home, eating a delicious brunch (with quiche so good Chris may never be able to eat quiche again knowing it will likely never match up) and getting some much needed hugs (at least enough hugs to last another couple of years).  It was such a great visit!

(I love that Brady has one and Brody has two of Phoebe's shoes on in this picture.  The boys love shoes, what can I say.)

Next we spent a few days at my parents house in NY.  My parents still live where I grew up, at the top of a mountain  on a great piece of land in the woods.  It was so fun to see the boys running in the yard and down the great big hill that we used to sled on.  The yard is surrounded by woods and the boys kept trying to creep into the brush to test how far we would let them venture.  These woods taught Chris an important lesson.  At one point he asked the boys if they thought monkeys lived in the woods.  Well, that was a huge mistake because each time they were outside and near the woods, Brady and Bordy made monkey noises and motions with their hands and tried to run into the woods to find the monkeys.  They were so sad when we would not let them chase the monkeys down.  Lesson learned (I hope).

 (You may be able to tell by Brady's face that he is making monkey noises to try and summon the fake monkeys.  This went on for awhile....)

We got to send lots of time with my grandma on this trip.  It was so great for her to see the boys and to share in their fun loving nature.  She loved watching them run and play at my parents house as well as her back yard. The boys know that they are lucky enough to have two Great Grandmas and it was really special for them to be able to play with one on this trip.  (Special thanks to my cousin Olivia for taking these pictures).

 We also got to visit a farm while we were home.  According my friend, Brooke, farm vacations are now very trendy for us city folk.  We had no idea we were being trendy, but when my Aunt Barbara graciously invited us to visit a farm with her, we accepted right away knowing the boys would love it.  And love it they did!  They got to pet horses,  feed them apples, and they got to sit on a pony.  They also got to pet and chase chickens which resulted in both boy clucking and adopting a chicken strut.  They sat on a tractor and we rode in the bed of a pickup truck to see more horses.  It was so much fun and they were in complete awe of all the surroundings.  I forget how pretty it is where I grew up.  As we drove home from the farm, I was struck with how beautiful the woods, farms, and mountains are.  It was nice to be able to share that with my nuclear family.

On Monday we squeezed in a visit to another close friend who I have not seen for 5 years.  Even as I write this, I can't actually believe that 5 years has gone by since I have seen my friend.  I moved to AZ shortly after her first daughter was born.  While living away, she had two more kids and I had the boys.  She lives in Massachusetts and I was in NY, but when I got a text saying "Where exactly do your parents live?" I knew precisely what she was thinking.  I tested my mind reading capabilities (and tried to sweeten the pot) by saying "I will meet you in CT" and a beautiful plan came together.  Amy found us a great park with a splash pad and our 5 kids got to romp and play and test out their new friendships.  It was a few hours of heaven to be chancing our kids together acting as if I had just seen her last weekend.  That is the thing about good friends, they stay good friends forever.

 And last, but not least, we got to celebrate my Mom's 60th birthday.  We cooked a Mexican feast and I made a delicious ice cream cake.  The boys loved celebrating with Grandma and we felt very lucky to be there on her birthday.

We ended our New York leg with a drive back to Newark in the pouring rain with a rental car that felt like it was going to die within miles of the airport.  Nothing is ever boring with us!  On to Michigan!

A couple of memories I wish to record:
1.  My sister has a small (5 lb) dog named Macaroni.  He is adorable and great with kids.  When Brady saw Macaroni for the first time, he started to meow like a cat clearly expressing to us that he thought the dog was actually a cat.  Poor Macaroni. 
2.  The boys commandeered the stereo in my parents living room.  They loved that it played music on command and that (using the own unique sign for music) that they could get one of us to turn it one just by asking.
3.  We trained the boys to call my sister "T, T".  The whole way to the airport on our last day, they said "T,T" and were sad when we told them she was not coming with us.  Brody also learned to say "Amy" after meeting her.  Now he says "Amy" when I ask if he wants to go to the park.
4.  My Dad taunted the boys with "tickle fingers" both when my parents were in CA in July and again when we were in NY in August.  The boys now say "Pa" and simultaneously do tickle fingers when they see pictures of my Dad. 
5.  On the last morning we were in NY, there was a construction crew with tons of big yellow trucks doing road work in front of my parents house.  The boys were mesmerized by all the trucks and could get enough of all the action happening right outside the big living room window.    Chris thought for sure that between the yard with woods, Macaroni, the visit to the farm, the visit to the park with the splash pad and the plethora of construction trucks, there was no way the boys were going think MI was as fun as NY.  Luckily fun tends to follow up no matter where we go!