Sanibel 2013 Part III

We spent last Saturday at the Naples home of our friends Jan and Dick. The boys loved playing in the pool with Daddy Lovebo and Grandma Joanie and riding in the boat through the canals. Daddy Lovebo enjoyed ogling the real estate and beautiful boats. Grandpa Stu was coaxed into a foot-pedaled kayak. 

Beckett fell asleep for a while on the boat.

The boys were super-tired at the end of the day because they skipped their afternoon naps.

Sanibel 2013 Part II

The boys loved using their wheel toys (including rolling suitcases) on the tennis court right in back of the condo.

Vacation Video!

This is a combination of three short videos from our trip to Sanibel Island.

Sanibel Vacation!

We got back late last night from a fabulous week in Sanibel with Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu. We went last year when the boys were nine months old and had a great time but this year was so much more fun because the boys were able to do so much more. Whereas last year the beach was a total bust (they wanted to eat the sand and throw it in their eyes), this year they loved digging with their shovels, pouring sand from one bucket to the other (accompanied by a triumphant "DUMP!" from Beck), chasing seagulls, and wading into the ocean with Grandma Joanie.

The boys also loved the pool this visit. In fact, as the three of us were reviewing these pictures this morning, every time we got to a pool picture, Beck said "GO!" and pointed to the pool in the photo. They loved walking along the gutter edge, jumping in (mostly Theo), playing with their buckets and watering cans and cups on the steps, and swimming with Grandma Joanie.

More posts to come as I unload the camera....

We're stuck at home, all packed and ready to go on our much-anticipated Florida vacation but delayed. So I am updating the blog, since I probably won't post while we're gone.

The best news is that I bought an item I have been coveting since I heard about it a few months ago: a Foscam surveillance camera to put in the boys' room. I was never the parent to worry overly about SIDS or the kids strangling themselves in their sleep, so a simple baby monitor was all we used for the first few months until they started sleeping more predictably and we packed it away. I have had friends in the moms of multiples group I belong to who have nannies at home and they have cameras set up all over (with the knowledge of the nannies, I assume) so they can watch their kids while they're at work. I never really understood the desire to watch your kids sleep until my kids started having very active-sounding social lives in their nursery after nap time started. I have been so curious about what they DO in there for an hour or two or even more until they finally quiet down and go to sleep.

Anyway, I'm sure there will be more fun stories to report later, but this afternoon after I put them down they were making a total ruckus and I turned on the iPad to check in on them. They were standing in their cribs, facing each other, with their hands on the top railing. They were smiling and staring each other down, just six or eight inches from each other. Then Theo slapped Beck dramatically across the face, and Beck took a dramatic fall backwards into his crib, rolling around and laughing, while Theo roared laughing. Then they both stood up again, stared each other down, and this time Beck slapped Theo across the face and Theo took a header to the crib mattress, again both laughing. I took some photos (yes, you can photograph with the camera!) but don't have them connected to the computer yet. There was also some conversation (emphatic pointing and then back-and-forth babbling to each other). Love it! Can't wait to watch more!

I forgot another adventure we had yesterday before Daddy got home. I went down to the basement to switch some laundry out and when I came back up, the boys had pushed in the lock to the basement door, locking me out of the upstairs. I briefly panicked but realized they know how to turn door handles, so I quickly persuaded Beck to turn the handle to unlock the door. I didn't want to make too big a deal of it because I didn't want it to become a joke where they try to lock me out every time I go to the basement.

Jeff surprised me by coming home early last night, which was a huge treat. He also let me sleep in this morning while he got up with the boys.

This morning we broke out the easel I had stockpiled last year, since the boys had liked using the chalk at the pediatrician's office last week. It was a moderate success, though both Theo and Beck (but especially Beck) mostly liked drawing on the back side of the easel, for some reason.

We also were reminded by Pomelo that perhaps it was time to do a little measuring. Both boys have grown more than an inch since last measured at 18 months! Also different: they were eager to be measured on our ruler growth chart!

The new kid-sized table and chairs has been a big hit. It is still hard for both of them (but especially Beck, because he's not quite as good a climber as Theo) to get situated in the chair by themselves, but once they are there they happily read or do puzzles by themselves (while talking enthusiastically) for quite a while. You can see Beck in the second picture especially really getting into his book. It sounds almost like he's speaking German while he's reading--there are lots of hard consonants and throat-clearing type sounds. I don't THINK I sound like that when I'm reading (I also don't think I furrow my brow nearly as much as he does) but I have no idea where else he could be getting that from.