Kyle & Owen are currently obsessed with the whole notion of age-time-growth-“bigger kids and littler kids”…

K & O’s school is pre-K through grade 8. And the school is very pro-active about explicitly encouraging and fostering children’s social relationships across age groups. This is one of the things we love about the Waldorf philosophy. Time is given and time is built in for kids to develop genuine social relationships that cut across ages and grades. K & O are in the Acorn room (the “nursery” class; i.e., Pre-K), so they are two of the very youngest kids in the entire school. As it turns out, for K & O, the relationships they’ve developed with some of the older kids at their school are a huge part of what they seem to love about their school. The best thing about these relationships is that they are truly organic, initiated and maintained by the kids themselves (and supported by the teachers and parents involved). For example…

Each day this winter when it was time for the Acorn Room kids to go outside to play, the 4th grade class would come down the hall to the Acorn classroom, and all of the 4th graders were responsible for getting the Acorn Room kids into their snow gear. When every day the “bigger kids” are helping the “littler kids” into their snowsuits, boots, hats, mittens, etc., it is pretty much a given (at least when you’re K & O) that some real relationships will develop. Sure enough, K & O became enamored with some of the 4th graders. And, as we’ve come to hear from the teachers involved (and many of the kids’ parents), some of the 4th graders became enamored with K & O too. Kyle fell in love with one 4th grade boy in particular — David (pronounced ‘Dah-ved’; and Kyle pronounces it perfectly).

About halfway through the winter Kyle started insisting that he go to see David in his classroom before school started. So, each morning at drop-off, on their way to the Acorn Room, Kyle, Owen, and Braydon stop in at the 4th grade classroom for a visit. K & O walk right in and smile huge, sometimes doing silly funny 3-year-old things. David is sweet with Kyle. He greets Kyle warmly each morning, hugging him, shaking his hand, rubbing the top of his head with his hand, saying “good morning Kyle!” But all the other kids get in on it too– The 4th graders all clamor to get up from their desks to greet K & O — the girls hug and kiss them, the boys hug and high-five with them, and the kids (two 3-year-olds and a class full of 4th graders) all fool around with each other for a few minutes before their school day officially begins. The 4th grade teacher encourages it. And so a daily ritual is in place. A ritual that continually builds and cements relationships between some kids who in another school setting would probably never cross paths. It is lovely.

David, age 10, has become Kyle’s idol. Kyle talks about David incessantly. He wants to “run so fast just like David!” He wants to “wear a coat and a hat just like David!” He wants to “eat so well so he gets big and strong just like David!” He wants to “be TEN! just like David!” When I go to pick up K & O from school the 4th graders are having recess at the same time as the Acorn Room kids are being picked up. Kyle and Owen will stand for as long as I’ll let them, just staring at the bigger kids playing. Sometimes David and his friends will stop what they are doing to come over and hang out for a bit with K & O. They chase each other around, rough-house together, and do silly stuff. K & O look up to these “bigger kids” like they are rock stars!

With the infatuation with “bigger kids” has also come a new awareness about “littler kids.” K & O are adoring of babies (as anyone who has been reading this blog knows). But they’ve started to differentiate between “babies” and “littler kids.” This past Saturday we got together at the playground with our friends the Jellisons. Their son Noah is almost 2. K & O kept calling him “Baby” at the playground, but in the days that have followed they’ve been talking about Noah as a “littler kid.” Kristen, Darin, Braydon, and I watched and laughed as K & O played “bigger kids” to Noah on Saturday. They embraced the role thoroughly — ‘teaching’ Noah how to climb up the playground to the slide, ‘showing’ Noah how to duck and crawl under the bridges, and dragging Noah all over the place hand-in-hand. Later that night as I was putting Owen to bed he asked me, “Mommy, is Baby Sister going to be as little as Noah?” I said, “Much smaller! She is going to be tiny!” “Right,” he said, “she isn’t even going to be able to walk! We’re going to have to teach her how to walk! how to crawl! how to sit! how to eat! how to talk! everything!!!” I said, “Yes, that’s right.” And Owen said, “I’m the bigger. I’m the bigger to Baby Sister because I’m going to be the Big Brother. I want her to come out of there right now!”

Right now K & O are loving the notion that they are –to some “littler kids”– the “bigger kids.” This whole idea of relativity is just coming alive for them. This morning on the way to school Kyle said to me, “Mommy, I am a David to the Baby Noah.”

Photos below from Saturday morning, courtesy of the Jellisons.

Our little man Ky Ky has been waking up with a totally dry Pull-Up for many nights now. He decided to go out on a limb last night and go for the gold— a diaper-free, Pull-Up-free night. No diaper, no Pull-Up, no nothin’! He got up twice to pee, and he woke up this morning dry and proud. 1 out of 2 ain’t bad. We’re ecstatic!

• Owen had his post-operative appointment with Dr. Chang, our pediatric surgeon, today. Dr. Chang removed the bandages and gauze. To reveal Owen’s innie!!! This was a big deal for Owen. Unfortunately there was quite a large hematoma (blood clot) under the skin around the top of the belly button. It is quite a big bump and Owen is not thrilled about that (it looks too similar to his old big ‘outie’). Dr. Chang said this is simply a result of the fact that the umbilical hernia was so very large. He also assured Owen that the hematoma will go away (be absorbed back into his body), hopefully within the next week or so. He advised warm baths. So K & O had a loooong warm bath this afternoon. Underneath the hematoma, however, is sure enough a big indentation of an INNIE. I found that I can hold up a mirror so that Owen can see that part, and he loves it. He also is very proud to show off his “innie button” to Kyle (see photo above, taken tonight after dinner).
• Shockingly, Kyle wanted to go to school today by himself! Owen had to stay home to go to Dr. Chang’s office. Since starting school this past fall the boys have refused to go by themselves (if the other has to stay home for whatever reason). But completely on his own Kyle made the decision to go it alone today. He had a great day at school solo! A big step for Ky Ky (and for Owen)!

1 Step Back:

• After a couple of very rough and tough weeks around here we had another rough spot last night. At about 2:00 a.m. Owen couldn’t sleep and Braydon ended up getting into bed with him. At 3:00 they both awoke, covered in barf, to Owen throwing up all over the bed. From 3:00-5:00 we were up with poor Owen, who for 2 hours had a terrible ordeal (both ends). Lots of loads of laundry later, he finally fell asleep. When he woke up at a little before 7:00 he felt great and was in good spirits. He was slow all day today, mostly just weak and exhausted (no more puke). And on top of it had to be dragged into his appointment with Dr. Chang. The poor, poor little guy. We feel like we got off relatively easy (we expected it to be a 24 hour thing so we were happy when it wasn’t)… but still… you’d think that at this point we’d deserve a break. Ugh. Such is our life– it never seems to go too easy for us and there is definitely never a dull moment.

Crocus Blooming In Our Front Garden

Yesterday and today I’ve posted a ton to try to catch up on the past couple of weeks of our blog-slacker-ness. Now I’m caught up and ready to get back to regular normal blogging! I feel like the past couple of weeks have been even more intense than usual around here. We go through these spurts. It is a wild ride we’re on trying to balance and juggle all that we do. Sometimes it feels totally and completely overwhelming. But we somehow always do manage to pop our heads up for air, get things back into their grooves, and life feels magical and wonderful much more often than it feels daunting. Thank goodness for that. Kyle and Owen are the lights of our lives. Baby sister is due 7 weeks from today. It is fully spring here and it feels good!

Braydon has been taking some amazing photos with his new camera. This is my current favorite. As always, click to enlarge.

Last week while MorMor was still here we had our annual Easter Egg Decorating Event. I say Event because decorating eggs with K & O is nothing less than an Event. An Event that you really need to take part in to grasp the scope of. My mom and I laughed our way through the entire thing– cleaning up spilled egg dye here, quickly handling near-miss-disasters there, trying to contain the exuberance of our crazy twins (exuberance is good, but not necessarily when it involves dye), keep the stains to a minimum, and generally do hard-core intensive damage control. My mom admitted that it was “very stressful” and that she was “really looking forward to her bourbon that night.” If I weren’t pregnant I probably would have been serving bourbon during the Event. All in all, though, it was a lot smoother/easier/less-messy than last year’s Egg Decorating Event (click here). What a difference a year makes!

MorMor came to help out during Owen’s surgery week. Here are three of Braydon’s shots from when she first arrived. I had just picked her up at the airport and brought her home. I truly cannot imagine any two grandsons more adoring of their grandmother than these boys are of their MorMor.

We went to the hospital early Wednesday morning. Owen was excited to get his “innie belly button.” But he was nervous and anxious too. In the car on the way to the hospital Owen said, “Mommy, I miss home.” We got settled in our hospital room and Owen was a perfect patient throughout.

As the nurses prepared him for surgery, they gave him something to make him get calm and groggy. He did not like the way the “bad medicine” made him feel. Braydon and I could stay with him right up until they rolled him into the O.R. As they took him off he was groggily leaning back around the rolling bed, waving and saying “bye bye” to Braydon and I. I could have just fallen into a heap of a mess right there. As the nurse walked us back to Owen’s room to wait for him she told us that she “wished she could give us some jello shots.” That was interesting. But if truth be told, if she had offered us some, I would have happily slid down a bunch.

Post surgery recovery. Owen was not a happy camper. He wanted to be on my lap the entire time and wouldn’t even move off enough for the nurses to take his blood pressure on his arm. He really did not like the IV. When he finally was coherent enough and brave enough he looked at his belly. He was thrilled that it was flat– indicating to him that it was now the “innie” he had wanted.

Mid afternoon we came home from the hospital. Owen sat on the couch for the entire afternoon (unheard of). The only thing he really wanted to eat was popsicles. Which was just fine with us. Kyle and MorMor came home from being out running errands and brought Owen a book of mazes. This really cheered him up. (Lately his favorite thing to do is mazes.)

Later in the day Owen said, “I need a toy.” He then asked Kyle to go to the playroom and get him a toy. Kyle ran off and returned with a toy airplane. We had no idea where this was leading. With airplane in hand, Owen pulled up his shirt and carefully rolled the airplane across the bandage and over his flat belly. Smiling he did this over and over again. Even though he was in quite a bit of pain, he just loved that it was flat. He then told Kyle that he needed “a truck, or a car.” Kyle ran to the playroom and returned with a toy car for him. Owen rolled the car over his belly again and again and again.

Kyle was unbelievably amazing for the few days that followed. He played for long stretches alone (and/or with MorMor). He was happy and good. I am still surprised at how well he handled Owen being the center of attention.

Kyle was the perfect twin brother to have at your side during your post-operative recovery!

In the few days following Owens surgery, K & O surely watched more videos than they had ever watched, total, in their entire previous lives. They spent hours and hours snuggled up on the couch together watching Curious George and Wonder Pets.

Today, six days post surgery, Owen is having his first day with no pain medicine! The boys had a great breakfast together this morning and headed off to school as happy as can be. Friday we return to Dr. Chang’s office for the removal of Owen’s bandages and his post-operative check up.