First Day of PreSchool

Brady and Brody have finally begun their school journey!  They are attending a local preschool three mornings a week and we are all very excited and enjoying the new experience.

A few days before the actual first day of school we had a preview day.  The boys got to try out all the game, toys, costumes, instruments, and scooters before the actual first day of school.  I could tell that they were going to be a little apprehensive about being at school alone but after a bit of time, they would love it.

Attending preschool has given us a view into the boys' personalities and relationship  (especially into the "twin" relationship) that I have not been able to witness at home.  First off, Brady was introduced to the concept that his full name is Bradyn---and he loves it!   Contrary to my exception that he would ask to be called Brady at school, he insists on being called Bradyn.  Upon hearing that Bradyn was his brother's full name, Brody immediately became sad and insisted that we call him Brodyn.  In keeping with this, when the boys were handed slips of paper with their names typed out for a name tracing exercise, Brody insisted that his teachers hand write an 'n' at the end of his name so that it would appear "correct".  I almost died of laughter when I pulled the slips of paper out of their bags and saw "Bradyn and Brodyn".  To take it one step further, Brody has also started calling Chris "Dadyn" and me "Momyn" to ensure that all of our names end in 'n'.  Next, it is amazing to me how inseparable the boys are at school.  Brady and Brody have such distinct personalities and really seem enjoy very different things at home.  Contrary to my expectation that they would gravitate to different actives during discovery time, they seem to want to stick together and play exclusively with each other.  Brady and Brody get sad when they do not get to eat snack at the same table and their teachers keep telling me that they keep encouraging them to play at different stations but the boys want to stick together.  In keeping with this idea, Brody has come home sad that other kids do not want to "play" with him.  When I mentioned this to his teachers she told me that Brady and Brody (like a lot of twins) play together in a more complex way that most 3 years olds and they cannot quite understand why other kids do not want to share and interact with them as intricately as their brother.  This too was a surprise to me because the boys seem to play really well with their twin and triplet friends but there may be more nonverbal (or mom) communication going on that I thought.  I'm sure this experience will force them to have to interact with their classmates in a different way than they are used to.  Last, I love how imaginative their play has gotten since going to school.  They come home with all sorts of different scenarios that they try to reenact with their own toys.  They have gone from building Magna-Tile towers for the sole purpose of knocking them down to building intricate cities and villages.  They are also really into collecting all of the pieces of every game and puzzle and storing them in their play house or random "treasure" boxes for "hiking" or "camping" trips.  It makes cleanup painful but it is so cute to see them applying new meaning to old toys.   I am looking forward to how these dynamics will change over this year as they continued to be exposed to new and more stimulating situations.

Summer 2015

I have neglected my updates so here comes a doozy, likely lacking in detail but as I have shamefully let the summer go by without blogging, I need to just get these pictures published and off my computer!  I know I will regret the length of this post when it comes time to putting together my "blog book", but here it goes!

We had a great summer. It started in the begining of June with a visit from Nana.  She came to help out while I had some minor surgery.  They boys hardly noticed I was in laying low while she was here! That had a ton of fun and we were so thankful she could come and help!

Over the 4th of July we headed to the beach and then road tripped down to SLO for a quick visit with our great friends the Hagobians.  We had so much fun seeing fireworks, going to the farm and playing at their house.  It was an easy and relaxing trip, we will certainly be back! One great memory from our trip was driving back home on the 4th of July.  We stopped in Monterey to play on the beach for a bit and strectch out our legs.  We left around 8 pm to drive north to our house and we managed to hit every single fireworks display up the peninsula. Everywhere you looked, either directly out the passenger windows or up into the distance, we were able to see fireworks.  It was magical and so special.  We partied like rockstars over the weekend, so hard in fact that the boys each had injuries that required a good soaking.  Play hard, recover hard, that's our motto!

We spent much of the summer participating in a wonderful "science camp" that was put together by my friend, Georgea.  She planed out the lessons and expeirments while we took turns hosting.  There were typically 9 kids in attendance and it was so much fun for moms and kids!  The boys really likes exploring the inner workings of structures, parachutes, pullies and balances, flow rates, chemical reactions, solutions, water dynamics and bubbles.  I jokingly coined it "do all the Pintrest actives you intended to do but likely was never actually going to do".  Thanks to Georgea, we got to experience them!

Next we headed to Colorado for Tina and  Patrick's wedding.  There were lots of family in attendandance and we had a great time.  We hung around Golden and Boulder, visited with family and partied hardy.  It was fantastic.  The boys loved the whole idea of a "wedding" which to them is a place to dance and party with the people they like the most (Nana, Auntie Ray Ray, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Sam, Aunt Lynn, Cousins Kyle and Chloe as well as new favorites such as Kate, Kelly, and Baby Hellen).  They partied like rockstars, tearing up the dance floor and staying in great spirits until about 10pm.  Chris and I made the strategic decision to take the boys home before they lost 'that loving feelin' and they were asleep before the party bus started its descent down the large hill towards our hotel. It was a terrific night and one they still talk about in great detail.

In Mid August we were lucky enough to have Granny and Papa come for a visit!  It was great fun to play and share some California sun with them.  We were having a heat wave so we used the opportunity to travel down to Monterey for the night.  We spent lots of time on the beach and even swam in the frigid water.  They got to visit the boys' pre-school a few days before school started and got a real feel for what we have been up (and will be up to) to on the West Coast. Chris and I escaped for several dates and that was lovely too.

Speaking of swimming, the boys took swim lessons this summer and gained some important skills. I am happy to say they love the water and are joyful swimmers.  It seems that their main motivation for learning to swim is to be able to get a snorkel mask and flippers... I am not sure where they got this yearning but I'll use whatever carrots I can to get them to become early swimmers!

In addition to lots of other fun outings, we have done a lot of bike riding this summer.  I love seeing the progression from being timid or slightly weak to being fearless and strong on their bikes.  It is almost getting to the point where I could run with then while riding.  That would be super fun (assuming I don't trip over one of them and meet my demise).

The rest of the summer, at least according to my Instagram account, was a montage of fun!  I'll be happy to remember it that way!