It must be a twin thing...

Yesterday I was changing Sammy's diaper on the changing table.

Wesley was watching from his crib.

It's just easier this way.

This way I'm not helplessly pinned to the changing table trying to prevent Baby A from diving off while Baby B scales furniture and stuffs unknown objects into his mouth.

Anyhoo, I was changing Sammy's diaper and couldn't resist the opportunity to tickle his delicious little belly. So I reached down and

TICKLED him by surprise.

Wesley laughed first!

"What are YOU laughing about Wesley!?"

So I TICKLED Sammy again

and just a half second before Sammy giggled...

Wesley was SQUEALING with delight and started chuckling up a storm!

It was just one of the silliest things ever!

Of course I had to tickle Sammy over and over to study this fascinating phenomenon.

So what are your thoughts? Was Wesley physically feeling the tickle or was it the sight of his brother being tickled that got his funny bone? ;)

You belong in the zoo

So for my birthday I told Jeff I wanted to take our first trip to the zoo as a family. We decided to go last Saturday. Samuel and Wesley gave me the family membership for my birthday. (Apparently they're loaded.) Our good friends came along with their little boy Josh.

We were supposed to meet there at 12:30 so we left at 12:22. (We just live a stone's throw from the darned place!) An hour and a half later, we finally found a parking spot. Who knew it would be such a zoo! Ha ha! From now on I'm going there on weekdays with the boys!

Here are some highlights from the day...

We got to the petting zoo long after it had closed but the boys were delighted with this goat.

I had myself convinced that the giraffe would be the big hit at the zoo because the boys have two of these on their wall at home...

and clearly they did enjoy the giraffes...

and the chimps were fun too

they are practically relatives after all...

but, alas, the STAIRS were the favorite attraction!

The bench at the top of the stairs came in a close second and they were none too happy about being put back in the stroller.

We took them out again to see the tiger pacing back and forth in his exhibit and Sam & Wes got to stretch their legs as well...

So when it was time to go back in the stroller yet again, Sammy lost it! He was NOT a happy boy! Popcorn to the rescue!

See that little tear under his right eye? Popcorn kept him quite content after that. He's such a daddy's boy!

This is Josh. He was very mild mannered the entire day. He's not quite to that walking/running/on the verge of needing a harness stage of life yet. Doesn't he look angelic? We remember that angelic stage. Sigh!

But we're enjoying this stage an awful lot too!

The SamWes Dictionary

Vocalization: Translation

kah keh: cracker

duh: duck

dah dah: dog

da dah: daddy

mama: mommy (awwww!)

nie nie: night night

noh: nose

nana: banana or Grandma Carroll (they love both)

bah bah: baby, bottle, belly, berry (lots of meanings here)

aaaa: cat

abidja bidja: I just feel like talkin (Sammy's language)

bah: ball

bubboh: bubble

uh oh: I dropped something on purpose and I want to see your reaction

Eating Out

Notice Sammy's excellent signing skills at the end.

Coming soon...

the SamWes Dictionary

The Light at the End of My Kitchenless Tunnel

Built in the 1930's and purchased as a fixer-upper, our house has always had a very tiny kitchen. Jeff remodeled it early on...new cabinets, flooring, tile and paint. But no matter how many ways we looked at it, there was no reasonable way to fit a dishwasher in. I mean look at this!

Yes, except for a very small space for a breakfast table, THAT was actually the entire kitchen! If we wanted to put a dishwasher in, we'd have to either lose the only drawers or just do without a sink. Now, you may be thinking "Come on Mindy! What's the big deal! So you have to handwash a few dishes?" If you're thinking this, you don't know my husband. Jeff LOVES to entertain so before the babies arrived, rarely a week went by that we didn't host people at our home multiple times. Add that up and it equals some very dry dishwater hands. (Palm Olive doesn't help, by the way.)

After the babies were born, I began spending so much time in the kitchen (lots of bottles to wash and sterilize for two babies) that Jeff couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, last Fall, he conspired with a designer friend of ours to completely remodel the kitchen once again, only this time the remodel includes an extra 200 square feet. So we began packing up our tiny but very full kitchen on New Years Day, did a little demolition...

and this has been my temporary kitchen ever since...

Clearly we eat out a lot.

In fact, the boys may be getting a little TOO comfortable eating out in restaurants. Here they are playing king of the hill in a booth with my dad.

This corner of the room belongs to Sushi, our geriatric cat.

Jeff says we've lost our letter grade.

Here are some pictures of the progress on our new and improved kitchen...

The new entrance is french doors...ooh la la!

This will be the U of the kitchen.

and in front of that will be an island with not one but TWO dishwashers!!!

The dark doorway on the right is what remains of our original kitchen. It will become our laundry room/pantry. Sigh!

And there's a skylight at the end of this tunnel!

Baseball Anyone?

Jeff put one of the Easter baskets Grandma & Grandpa gave to the boys on Wesley's head yesterday. The boys don't like hats and immediately tear them off their heads and throw them on the ground. This one is, apparently, an exception for Wesley. He's more than happy to wear this giant baseball basket as a hat! Go figure!

Easter Eggs vs. Strawberries

Well here's the family at church on Easter morning. Don't the boys look handsome in the Easter outfits their Nanna Carroll picked out for them?

Afternoon Easter egg hunt...

These lucky boys hauled in a total of 4 Easter baskets each!

The boys couldn't stay away from Grandma & Grandpa. They stuffed their eggs with sugary cereal. Ah hah!!!
So much for the sugar-free Easter. But we did manage to get some healthy snacks in too.

They really enjoyed getting whole strawberries instead of the little cut up pieces I usually give them.

Here's the look on Baby J's face...when she got a look at this puss.

Good thing I got a great tip on how to get berry stains out of clothing. I'll get working on that just as soon as I finish my See's candy bordeaux the size of an ostrich egg.

Sugar-Free Easter

Decided to make an Easter basket for my grandparents this year since my grandpa was recently moved into a board and care facility. He loves his sweets but unfortunately, he and my grandma are both diabetic so Easter treats require a little creativity and planning. I've been wanting to make these little chocolate nests for awhile now. They're just so darn cute and super easy to make. I used Hershey's sugar free chocolate chips and Russell Stover jelly beans.

Threw in some sugar free chocolate bunnies, and sugar free Reese's peanut butter cups and I had myself a Grandpa-friendly Easter basket.

No candy for the boys yet. They're getting cheerios and finger puppets in their eggs this year. We're having a little Easter egg hunt for them tomorrow with their little girlfriend up the street. Here they are practicing for the big day tomorrow.

Wesley


Sammy


Their new favorite thing is putting things into other things. I'll post pics of the real thing tomorrow!