the sixers

This year, for the very first time, we opted to have a birthday party fully catered by the wonderful Bounce U.  My boys LOVE this place and so it seemed like the right spot for a party.  Joined by their cousin friends,  some church friends, and school friends, the boys jumped, bounced, slid, shot, climbed, hit, ran, flipped, boxed, their way to a fun birthday!  And topped it all off with pizza, soda, cupcakes, ice cream, and birthday presents!  Couldn't get much better than that.  I'm pretty sure they loved their birthday this year.  We celebrated their birth again on Sunday night with just our family and some grilled hamburgers, homemade cakes, and Blue Bell of course.  So glad these cuties are here to stay with us!

Silly birthday boys.
(Jack left, Ben right)

On the birthday throne.
They are so expressive, it cracks me up to see the photos I get
because they really do make all these faces all the time!

Ben about to blow out his candle.

Ben telling a really good story to one of the party hosts. :)

Jack blowing out the candle.

Ben with his pizza.

Ben climbing.  This happens to be one of his talents.

Ben, Great-Grandma Beach, and Jack.

Jack and his soda.

Friends.

More friends.

Opening a present.

Pete manning the ball shooter.

Going up....................C.....................o..................m................i.................n...............g..................down..................

tooth goblin beware

 A couple weeks ago, we noticed that BOTH Jack and Ben had their first loose tooth, the same tooth, no less. So, every day, they would each wiggle it and check it to see if it was getting closer to coming out.  Jack's finally fell out on Feb. 1st while Ben's was hanging by a thread.  He spent extra time that day trying to wiggle, twist, and pull on it so it would fall out too, but alas, he had to wait until the next day for his to fall out.  I love how different these boys are in personality, but how very similar they are in physical traits.  They both got their first tooth within days of each other and it continued with all their teeth, sometimes Jack's coming in before Ben's, sometimes Ben's coming in before Jack's, but never more than a day or two apart. They have the same hair and basic features (no surprise since they ARE identical twins), the same cute chins, ears, adorable little stick legs and gray/blue eyes.  They do have a few small physical differences, like Jack's face is shaped a little longer. I hypothesize that this is due to the fact that his head was positioned in between my pelvis bones for the last few months of his gestation.  This caused a flat spot/bump on the back of his head, that we subsequently tried to fix with this little orthotic helmet. They have corresponding birthmarks on the same leg in similar but different locations, that are shaped quiet differently.  Nevertheless, they are both absolutely, completely, adorably handsome little guys!

Ben & Jack each with their first missing tooth!

Ben and his empty spot.
The Tooth Goblin didn't come and eat his tooth (thank goodness).
The Tooth Fairy, however, did come and take it leaving him $5 and a sucker! 

Jack and his empty spot.
He also got a visit from the Tooth Fairy for $5 and a sucker, keeping the Tooth Goblin away.
These two are going to singlehandedly bankrupt the Tooth Fairy!

twin pool fatigue: the act of passing out from exhaustion after swimming all day; most often expressed by two or more individuals found sleeping in identical positions.

fyi-  These boys just took off swimming on the second day we were here.  I was hoping they'd pick it up fast and they did.  They are now little fishes swimming all across the pool, deep end and all.  They also love to dive down to the bottom for "things."

of bunk beds

Shortly after arriving in AZ, my dad drove out from SD with a bunk bed that he built HIMSELF. Yes, you read that right, my dad, the amazing carpenter, built this bunk bed from scratch.  It is a replica of the Pottery Barn Camp Bunk which I found online and liked.  I gave him the link to the photo of it, he found the plans online and made it. He also included free delivery and setup.  Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Jack and Ben had been sleeping in their cribs turned toddler beds which we left behind, so it was time for the upgrade.  So far they love it and have been fighting over who gets to sleep on the bottom bunk (yes, I said bottom bunk).  They swap every Sunday. :)

Jack on the top bunk and Ben on the bottom, enjoying their first night in big beds!

It looks even better in person and is super strong and sturdy.  I can snuggle up on top with one of the boys and it doesn't seem to even know I'm there.

Shot of the detail work he did for the bead board on the head and foot boards.  Plus the plans included that it can be taken apart and used as two twin beds if we ever want to.

booger fingers

I must document some of the funny things my kids have done/said recently.  I taught Ben's primary class today and I wish I had taken notes on his hilarious commentary and attitude he displayed in class.  During the opening free-discussion time, each of the children can share whatever they would like to talk about.  When Ben's turn came around, he stood up, insisting that he needed to stand, stretch, and clear his throat in preparation for the amazing things he was going to say.  Then he proceeded to talk about Super Mario.  He told about how he beat the sand level and then, turning to Eli, matter-of-factly suggested, "Eli, you can say 'Wow'."

I've also been night-training the boys (and washing a lot of bedding in the process).  One night about midnight, I went into the boys room to wake them up for a potty attempt.  When I went to get Jack up it was too late.  His bed was wet so I just picked him up and started undressing him without even speaking to him.  I stood him beside his bed and without any words exchanged, he immediately said, "It's all Peter's fault!"  I busted out laughing and couldn't stop, which I think woke him up a bit, and then he gave me the pouty bottom lip and acted a bit offended by my laughter.  It didn't last long and he went back to sleep pretty easily after a change of clothes and bedding.  We all had a good laugh about it the next morning.

Recently, when Jack went to work with Wade on a Saturday, he was introduced to an acquaintance of Dad's.  When introducing himself, Jack said, "My name is Jack, there are two of me."

Jack and Ben have recently invented a new game.  I've seen them playing impromptu games for a few weeks, but today I caught them in a very serious attempt.  I overheard Jack say, "Let's play booger fingers," to which Ben replied, "Yeah, booger fingers."  Hearing this, I looked over at them and watched them each, very seriously, start to put every finger, one-by-one, into their nose.   At that point, I decided to intervene and told them, "No booger fingers! Go wash your hands right now."  From the impromptu games I've seen in the past few weeks, I know that the game continues by wiping their own booger fingers on each other and laughing. So much fun.

in which we have a mario and luigi birthday party

Complete with a pinata...

...a Bowser pinata.

Presents...

 

 

...Star Wars presents.

And cupcakes...

 

 

...Super Mario style!

FIVE!

 Jack and Ben are 5!  On their birthday last Friday, we had cake and ice cream as a family.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa V and mom and dad they got Lego ninjago spinjitzu sets along with an arena that they wanted.  They have been in heaven spinning their Lego guys around and using the different "weapons."

Ben on left and Jack on right.  They wasted no time after opening their Lego set!

Jack playing Legos.

Ben with his Legos.

The Mario and Luigi cakes.

Ben on left and Jack on right ready to blow out the candles!

preschool 2011-2012

Jack and Ben on their 1st day of preschool.  They are each doing a different Funshine Express preschool co-op with two different groups of moms.  Jack did great in his group and Ben had a rough first day. But, I think it will turn out to be great overall!  A little tricky dropping them off and picking them up at separate places, but I'm hoping it will be a good experience for each of them. 

Ben                                                                              Jack

Silly Ben

 

Serious Ben

Silly Jack

Serious Jack

joy school graduation

Joy School Jack

Joy School Ben
(I told him to smile, and he said "smile")

Joy School was a challenge for several reasons this year, including the fact that Jack and Ben are VERY energetic. This photo is misleading, since I don't think that they stood still like this for more than a few moments (all year long!).

Some impromptu dancing courtesy of Ben during the Joy School Graduation Program.

brothers

Ben is #3, Jack is #2. Ben was on track dribbling towards the goal,
when Jack came up along side.

Ben takes a shot on goal.

It hit the post and bounced out.

Jack grabs Ben before and after the shot.

Ben is not happy about Jack's interference.

after pete boarded the bus this morning

Jack gave a silly face (typical).

Ben gave a sweet smile!

Cue the melting heart!