We’ve been blogging for 2 Years!!!

(Actually we’ve been blogging for 2 years + 1 month. But October was just too tough for our family and I didn’t feel like ‘celebrating’ on the actual Blogiversary — October 11). Last year, on our first Blogiversary we got our readers to tell us some of their favorite blog posts from that year (click here). Then we compiled a Top Ten List of Our Readers’ Favorite Blog Posts (click here).

OWEN CAN BLOW BUBBLES WITH CHEWING GUM!
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KYLE CAN SNAP!
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MEERA CAN SHIMMY HER WHOLE BODY ALL AROUND HER PLAY MAT!
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The boys’ Waldorf School has a lot of events and festivals throughout the year. My absolute favorite is the Lantern Walk that happens one evening in the fall. It is such a beautiful, beautiful night. Click here for Braydon’s post about last year’s Lantern Walk. This year we are not going to be able to make it to the Lantern Walk and we’re all really sad about that. Yesterday after school I made lanterns with Kyle and Owen. After dinner the four of us (Meera was sound asleep in her crib) did our own Lantern Walk outside around our house. It was a crisp November night, very dark, with an almost-full moon. Walking outside in the dark is so powerful and magical for young children — especially carrying a lantern with a real candle in it. K & O carried the lanterns we had made earlier in the day (calling them their “4 Year Old Lanterns”), and Braydon and I carried their lanterns from last year’s Lantern Walk (their “3 Year Old Lanterns”). It wasn’t as full-of-wonder as it would have been if we could have made it to the school Lantern Walk, but it was really special and wonder-full nevertheless.

photo from June 2006

Juli commented on a post from earlier this week asking if we get asked a lot about who is “older”- K or O. I am so surprised that I’ve never blogged about this, but I have looked back through the blog a bit and I really don’t think that I ever have written about it!!! The reason I’m surprised I haven’t blogged about it yet is because it is on my mind so often, because… just about every time we’re out and about in public I get asked this question. Having twins is like walking around with a PEOPLE MAGNET. (at least it is for us.) It doesn’t help that 1) we’re such an ‘interesting’ looking –i.e., mixed race -black&white– family, and 2) K & O are –if I do say so myself– so gorgeous. Plus, K & O are so extremely extroverted and social (to the nth degree) and approachable that they make it way too easy for people to approach in pretty much any/all circumstances. Just about always people will first say, “Are they twins??” and then they’ll respond with, “Which one is older???” We have always explained what ‘twins’ are to K & O by saying something along the lines of, “Twins are two babies who grow together in a woman’s belly and are born together.” This all makes more and more sense to them the older they get. They ‘get it.’ Truthfully, I really hate the question ‘Which one is older?’ I hate it because I don’t like the way people read into it what they do. People always say stuff to us like, “Well, you know, with twins whoever was born first is the bigger one.” And, “The older twin is the more dominant one.” And, “The younger twin is usually weaker.” Etc., etc., etc. I personally think the whole notion of giving any kind of deep meaning to which one came out first is totally unfounded and bizarre. When people ask about which one is older I always say, “We don’t know.” The honest to goodness truth is that we do not know which baby came out first. And we will never know. From my perspective, that is a gift. I love it that we truly don’t know who came out first. Recently, now that the boys are getting older, people are starting to direct their questions directly to them instead of to me. They get asked all the time, “Are you guys twins??”… “Which one of you is older???” To, “Are you guys twins?” they quickly and enthusiastically reply, “YES! We ARE twins!” And when the follow-up question comes (which it so often does) –“Which one of you is older?”– Kyle and Owen just sort of look back at the person with a blank dumbfounded look and then continue forward with whatever it was they were up to. At that point I usually quickly answer for them, “We don’t know!” and then run off, chasing after them as usual.

Meera is teething. She cut her first tooth about a week ago. Over the past couple of days the second tooth has popped through. Two bottom teeth for our little sweet baby. I hate to see the teeth poking through, I hate to feel them breaking through her gum, because I just hate to have to see her grow up. Why can’t she stay my tiny baby forever??? Why? Why? Why? Oh, she is pure sweetness and, oh, how I wish she’d never be more than 5 months old. Ba ha waaaa. Anyhoo… enough about that. The poor baby is teething. And if she can get her hands on it, it is in her mouth rubbing up against her sore little gums. It really does seem like teething toys were made for this girl. As though they were invented for her. Adding insult to injury, she’s also been struggling this past week with Daylight Savings Time. We switched the clocks back a solid week ago now, but still Little Miss still insists on going to bed at her old bedtime (6:00ish which is now 5:00ish). She’s kind of cramping our style in terms of Family Dinner. Really, who goes to bed for the night at 5:00???? But what can we say? This is a girl who loves her sleep. Despite her teething and her excessive sleeping, she’s a bundle of baby love. Gurgling, squealing, drooling, everything-in-the-mouth, cuddly-baby-bundle-of-love. Even as she’s been cutting these two teeth and revolting against Daylight Savings, Little Miss Meera remains the happiest, most mellow, most happy-go-lucky baby I’ve ever encountered. For real. What I really want to post about, though, is the special bond that is in full swing right now between Meera and Owen. This is a girl who loves her Owen almost as much as she loves her sleep and her teething toys. She loves Kyle too, don’t get me wrong. But there’s something special right now between M & O. Owen spends a lot of time holding Meera. He asks to hold her multiple times a day. And when he holds her he’ll sit and cuddle with her for long extended periods (that is, long for an active 4-year-old boy). They hang out together a lot. And that is what it is with them — they hang out. They just hang out together in a way that I have to think must be unusual for a 4.5 year old and a 5 month old. They are pretty interesting to watch. Oh, and there is no one– no one– who can make Meera laugh like Owen can.

Nikki left a comment on the post below asking for tips for fun Haiti-related stuff for young kids.
My favorite is a Haiti Coloring Book called Bel Peyi Mwen: A Children’s Coloring Book of Haiti.
Click here for the amazon.com link

There are some good children’s books out there that pay tribute to Haiti. I have found, however, that they aren’t generally geared to very young children. And the truth is that the ones we have are still sitting on the upper shelf waiting for when K & O are a bit older. We have a great book that they love, though, that is not focused on Haiti per se, but is still terrific for Haitian kids. It is Caribbean Dream by Rachel Isadora. Awesome illustrations!
Click here for the amazon link

Another great tip from us to you is Haitian musical instruments, art (paintings, crafts, etc.), and jewelry. Some of this can be great for young kids. We have a bunch of instruments from Haiti that K & O love. And they like to look at jewelry, etc. that we have from Haiti. And we have art/crafts from Haiti on the walls and shelves all over our house. Look for places online that sell Haitian-made stuff. Just start googling and searching and you’ll eventually start finding things. One site I love is “Konny’s Korner” —
Click here for the link

Let us know if you find great Haitian stuff for young kids too!!! HBJ

I put ‘cleaning’ in “QUOTES” because the cleaning (not in quotes) required to clean up their “cleaning” is a lot more cleaning than the “cleaning” itself. But man, do they love “cleaning”! Leave ’em alone unoccupied for a few minutes and next thing you know they’re “cleaning” — they’ve gotten themselves into the Cleaning Closet in the laundry room… and all *heck* has broken loose! “Cleaning” “cleaning” craze craze craze. A tornado-like frenzy of frenetic “cleaning”-spraying-squirting-swooshing-mopping-scrubbing-“cleaning.” Usually it starts in the bathroom and then gradually moves into the kitchen. “Real men clean boys! Real men clean!” I cheer, as I dart back and forth re-directing a spray nozzle here (so it doesn’t go straight into an eye) and re-positioning a mop there (so it doesn’t slam-dent the baseboard). If it is left to go on long enough they’ll move through the whole house, with me gently guiding them (until I lose my patience and it turns into not-so-gentle-guidance at which point the fun of it usually ceases for them pretty quickly and they run off to other things leaving me in peace to clean up the “clean up.”) I’ve been trying to roll with it, though, calling up all the patience I have within me, and just grinning-and-bearing the follow-up cleaning required, because I figure that what I’m going through now is well worth it for the THANKS AND PRAISE I’ll be receiving someday down the road from their future life-partners. I imagine it now: proud me, as a sixty-something-year-old, my cup runneth over with gratitude from my lovely daughters-or-sons-in-laws (I just have to believe –or else I’ll cry– that we’ll have legalized marriage for all consenting adult partners by then). Anyway, I can deal with delayed gratification. Oh, yes I can. They’ll be thanking me someday for these modern men. And I’m putting it out there to the universe now: whoever you are, you out there, you who will be my boys’ life-partners someday…. YOU OWE ME BIG TIME FOR THIS!!!!!!! BIG TIME!!!! 😉