Opa's new creation

This is very cool, so much better than a plain old slideshow! Check it out:

Halloween!

The twingle and twinks had Halloween costumes based on characters from children's literature. They attended a Halloween party last Saturday with their parents wearing their costumes. The trio showed off their costumes to their great-grandparents when they were out there this afternoon and Matt took Bentley trick or treating at four of the neighbors' homes.

Here's Bentley in his costume (which you probably already saw him wearing in the Tigger video). He didn't like wearing the hood so it was hard to get a good photo of it on.


Here's the twins in their Dr. Seuss costumes. The first photo shows off the costumes and the second photo shows off the twins. (Aren't they lovely?)



Here's a photo of Bentley smothering the twins during our photo shoot. He can be a bit overwhelming if you're the focus of his attention and you're smaller than he is.

The Victory Dance

As we have mentioned a few times, Bentley loves balls. He is a great shot already, parents of playdate friends are always impressed at his aim when he throws. Tonight, for example, 7 shots in a row made it into the hoop.

Here he is getting ready to shoot:

I told him that he needs to come up with a victory dance for when his shots make it in the hoop. So far we have a jump move as the first part, I'm sure he'll incorporate some more details into the dance as it evolves!

The Swiffer Man!

Bentley was watching me clean the floors this past week, and luckily for me he is not a child to stand and watch from the sidelines! He insisted on jumping in and taking over the chore. He kept at it for a good 10 minutes and was upset when I dragged him away (it was time to leave the house) before he thought the chore was done. I'm lucky to have such a helpful child! The floor looks great, and I think the little foot print smudges in the shiny clean finish are a nice touch.

Bentley Video Fun

Overnighter

We had all three grandchildren spend the night with us last night. They were very good. We fed the twins at 11PM, 4AM, and 8AM. We are tired today. I cannot think of anything witty--or even pertinent--to add to the above facts because my brain keeps zoning out. Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words.



As you see, Bentley helped us out with feeding the twins. He didn't however help at the 4AM or 8AM shift. He was sound asleep. He slept almost 12 hours straight. (Perhaps he finds caring for the twins as exhausting as the rest of us do?)

Growing Bigger

Today is the twins' four month birthday. A lot of growing has taken place over that period. At two and half weeks the twins were this big:


At two months they were this big:


At four months they are this big:


In a year and half, if they take after their older brother, they will be this big:


AMAZING!

Accepting the Inevitable

Here is Kara's response to my Joy Jumping post:


She found the onesie at Fred Meyer's this evening.

Joy Jumping

joy jumping n. Slang 1. Jumping done for fun and thrills. 2. A hazardous, reckless, often costly venture.

Last night Mark and I had great fun watching Bentley jumping on the downstairs couch. He would jump straight up and then pull his feet up so as to land on his butt on the cushions all the while laughing gleefully.



His mother was sitting on the other end of the couch. She did NOT approve of his activity. According to her, bed/sofa jumping is the number one cause of toddler injury. Probably true. She valiantly tried to discourage his jumping, but he was having such a good time her discipline attempts didn't penetrate his haze of joy. I truly think he was clueless that she was saying "No!" and he saw her restraining grabs as a game. The only thing that worked was holding him down.


It was quite the amusing show.

I think she's right that he shouldn't jump on the couch, but I really don't see how she's going to convince a 21-month old of that. He's so CUTE--I certainly can't deny him his fun. I sure hope she doesn't make it a rule that we can't baby-sit him UNLESS we restrict his couch jumping. Of course, since he doesn't talk well yet, how would she know what goes on when she's not around? Don't you think two years old is soon enough to learn the no jumping rule?

Role reversal

The alternate title for this post was "The Wrath of Genevieve: Part 2" - but that seemed a little long! For the last week or two the twins have been behaving out of character. Although, I suppose it's hard to say that someone who is 17 weeks already has a character set in stone so perhaps they are just now revealing true character? :-) I'm hoping not, and reminding myself how frustrating it would be to be in their shoes trying to communicate with a slow witted adult! Jackson is becoming much better natured, maybe he's growing out of his stomach troubles and able to relax more? We still get some screaming episodes but not nearly as often. Here he is enjoying life:


Genevieve has taken it upon herself to fulfill the empty role of "troubled soul" in our household. I've been trying to convince her I was okay with having the post vacant, but so far she's sticking with her newfound hobby. Geneveive will play on her own, often for a long while, but lately when she gets angry she gets REALLY angry. She makes it clear she will not be consoled. She primes her vocal cords with one or two small coughs and then she lets loose. I'm hoping my eardrums survive this stage. Here she is exercising her lungs:

Fun for All

Some people believe that life with three small children is a lot of work. And it can be:


However, it's a lot of fun, too. Check out dad having fun with Bentley:


And mom having fun with Genevieve:

Jump baby, jump!

For months I have been eyeing the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. I consider it attractive (that says a lot about the other toys out there!), for a baby toy, and it seems to me like something the babies should enjoy. I have debated purchasing one for a few reasons. Firstly, they're expensive! Secondly, Bentley wasn't really into jumping - we had a jumperoo that attached to the doorway for him at my parents' house (our trim isn't thick enough) and he wouldn't use it. So it seemed like a big purchase to make just to find out Jackson and Genevieve aren't into jumping either!

Last week I found one on Craig's list - it wasn't a great price, but it was better than paying new price! I decided to go for it, as the twins have been awake more and more often, and I figured they might enjoy a different play perspective for some of their awake time. I know they're a little young for the jumperoo but I popped Jackson in once I cleaned it up and he likes it! I won't say he loves it because I don't want to jinx the relationship, but so far it seems to be a hit - he even does some bouncing. I'm excited! Genevieve isn't quite as excited about it as Jackson, but she's been a good sport - I'm sure she'll get more into the groove with it soon. :-)

Ghost Hat

It's Halloween in nine days and consequently the Halloween decorations are out at Kara's home. When I was looking for some way to jazz up the daily photos, this is what I happened upon.



Obviously this will not become an annual tradition, but since the boys did such a great job of posing for the camera, I put the photos out on the blog. (If you think the picture is strange, imagine in place of the ghost a big, gaudy, gold crown. Is a ghost head topper really that odd? I think not--at least it's light weight.)

Two Peas in a Pod

Usually the twins do not look like two peas in a pod. It is very easy to tell them apart. However, yesterday when they were wailing in tandem in their matching outfits, they looked alike.


When not shrieking at the top of their little lungs, they looked like this:



And here's our little peas in a pile:

Bentley's 1st Novella

This may seem a bit mundane to some of you, but I wanted to post (and thus remember!) Bentley's first short novel! He wrote and emailed this to me, with assistance from Grandma, while spending a night out earlier this week.

;r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;r;rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr;r;rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
rrrrrrr;rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;r;;....................................
............................................................................
................................................r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;..
..................................r;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;szszszssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,nnnnn
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
vvvvvvvvvvvvvnnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...................................................
............................................................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,gffddddddddddddddddddddddddg//.tttttttttttttttt
tttt

LOVE, BENTLEY

Doors and stairs - the newest toddler tricks

Bentley is mastering the art of opening closed doors. He's still not a pro, and the results are inconsistent - but I have a feeling he'll have a 100% success rate soon! I'm not sure how excited I am about this, although I realize he's going to learn skills like this...

He's also working on doing the stairs like "big people". This one I discourage, but he has a mind of his own so I'll probably have to get used to it!

Baby Legs and Pom-pom Hats

Last week I went out and bought some "Baby Legs", and I love them (they are the polka dot leggings in the pictures). Bentley has a pair of green ones but I haven't convinced him to wear them yet - there's still time though. They're one size fits all, and they can be used on legs or arms. They can be instead of pants, under dresses, or a nice warm layer under pants to tuck into socks and keep little legs toasty in the winter. So cool!! My husband informs me they aren't for boys, but I'm just going to ignore him. He's wrong AND he's not being very fun!

Also notice the cool hats, a gift from a friend of my Mother's. I love them! It's funny how the right hat can completely change the look of the face. :-) Genevieve, unfortunately, is sleeping in her picture. She is also the reason there isn't a group shot - she was in a bit of a temper and screamed when put down... so we had to wait until she fell asleep to get her picture. I'm thinking she might be transferring her hostility towards dresses to hats. She'll have to get over it though because it's getting cold out there!

Dance baby, dance!

Bentley has a 6th sense about video recordings... actually, all of my children seem to. Without fail when I pull out the camera and stealthily try to put it into recorder mode, they quit whatever adorable activity they're engaged in. Lately that means dancing for Bentley and talking for Genevieve...

My Dad did, however, get a still of Bentley in motion tonight! He was pulling out his fancy hand twirl moves and tippy toe steps to impress his cousin Alyssa who's visiting from Juneau this week.

And here he is saying "join me!":

In other Bentley news, we are currently battling a case of the mysterious hives. They appeared on his face yesterday afternoon, and went away after about an hour. They came back later in the evening and with the help of some Benadryl went away again. We thought that was the last of it, but they showed up again tonight. We're now trying to figure out what he may be allergic to - or hoping that maybe it's just the result of a virus of some sort? Time will tell.

Sitting together

Genevieve and Jackson are making quick progress with their baby tricks - their legs are getting much stronger and they're getting better at standing (with a little help), and they've also been working hard on their sitting lately. They still have some topple issues, but I think they're doing awesome!

Need a Smile?

Need a smile to brighten your day? Here's one from our champion baby smiler.


His sister is not so quick to share a smile. She supresses her smiles!


However, with a little coaxing (okay, a lot of coaxing!), she almost smiles.


And, lastly, here's a huge smile from Bentley who was obviously enjoying himself at the time this photo was taken. He had just climbed up on the couch and plopped himself into a mother-daughter photo session. Genevieve was not amused.

My Newest Theory

My previous theory was that Bentley favors Genevieve because he is wild about the color pink. Genevieve is usually dressed in pink. Jackson is never dressed in pink. Occasionally he is wrapped in a pink blanket and once I put him in the pink car seat, but his parents have forbidden me from dressing him in anything pink so I cannot test out my pink theory. Where is their scientific curiosity?

So I've moved on to a new theory to explain Bentley's preference. My new hypothesis is that it's because Genevieve looks a lot like Bentley did as a baby and so, of course, he's drawn to her for that reason. He likes the familiar.

Here's two photos that show their alikeness:



Don't you think Bentley would have looked adorable in pink?! The rule on no pink clothing is in force for him, too. Cultural taboos can be ridiculous. I keep pointing out to my grandsons' parents (i.e. my daughter and son-in-law) that Latino and Polynesian males wear pink. Polynesian men even wear pink skirts (lava lavas) and they still look quite manly, right?

The Hair Cut

I think I'll try cutting Bentley's hair again in... 3 years? In the mean time I'll practice on Matt (if he ever lets me!), since he can hold still and wait patiently while I try to figure out what I'm doing!

At first Bentley looked a little confused, but things were still going ok:

The scissors came out, after studying the book, and Bentley didn't like it:

The screaming was getting to me & Grandma (and let's face it - we realized this was a lot harder than it looked!) so I satisfied myself with trimming one ear - compare the two pictures - didn't I do a nice job on the ear?!

One phone call to Natalie (the hair dresser), 1 order of french fries, and 1 bag of peanut butter M&Ms (bribes!) later...


I'm just not sure if the hair cut makes him look younger or older? In any case, it's good to get rid of all that extra hair so we can see that beautiful baby face more clearly!

Rare Photos

We take hundreds of digital photos of our grandchildren every week. This is a rare photo:


Bentley with Jackson and without Genevieve! Bentley enjoys--even demands--photos be taken of him and the twins, but when he goes one-on-one with a twin it's almost always Genevieve. But before you feel sorry for Jackson, keep in mind that being Bentley's chosen twin is not always a good thing.


And here's another rare photo--our first photo of Jackson and Genevieve BOTH smiling.


During daily camera time Jackson smiles much more easily than Genevieve. Some photo shoots he has given us dozens of lovely smiles. Genevieve is a smile miser when the camera is out. Perhaps she finds people with cameras glued to their eyeball too strange to be amusing?