Christmas Catch-Up

FINALLY, after a mad month of getting ready for Christmas, I find myself with a few moments to start catching up on blog posts!! We had a great day today. The boys were in full form as three-year olds... tearing through presents, happily playing with everything, they were so good at helping Shea, Mommy and Daddy open presents and were thrilled to tell Daddy what was inside of each of his. Too cute. Eventually (give me a month or two), I will post photos of this Christmas season... we have had so much fun with art projects, letters to Santa, baking, decorating... the boys LOVED making paper chains for our Christmas tree, as well as a paper star for the top... every morning, they would ask me if it was Christmas morning... all of it was far-too magical for me, as a mom...

For now, I will post this video of Shea and Granddad from Thanksgiving. I came across it tonight and I can't help but post it. Jaxon is pretty sweet, as well, counting his treasures.

In other news, D.R.'s brother has been hospitalized in the ICU with a nasty case of pneumonia, and now, a collapsed lung, as well. Prayers and good thoughts for him would be wonderful.

Be my Tauntaun

The boys' newest obsession is all things Star Wars. No, they haven't seen the movie. They found an Empire Strikes Back storybook of D.R.'s from his childhood and have listened to that story everyday for a good month. It amazes me, because it's long enough that it takes me a good half-hour to read the whole thing!

As usual, they have incorporated their newest love into their role playing, which is oh-so- entertaining for me.

Thing that have made me laugh, recently:

- They have these great phonics connecting blocks, which they ONLY use to build light-sabers.

- Today, climbing on my back, Jaxon said, "Mommy, be my Tauntaun!"

- They are convinced the Dark Side is an actual place, and have deemed the kitchen, the Dark Side. They are frequently shouting, "Mommy, I'm going to the Dark Side! Love you!"

- The other day, Jaxon told me, "My daddy's at work. Darth Vader's my daddy. I'm Luke Skywalker." Much improved from the day before when Dex kept following me around saying, "You're my dad, Mom! I'm Luke Skywalker!!"

- This morning, Dexter told me he was Princess Leia and Shea was Chewbacca. When Shea grabbed his phonics light saber and stuck it in her mouth, he shouted, "No!!! Stop eating my light saber, Chewbacca!!" This made me giggle.

- The couch is still the Batmobile, but the armchair across the living room is the Millenium Falcon... naturally.

- Jaxon can frequently be found hunched over. When asked why he's stumped over, he'll answer, "Yoda's on my back." Hmmm...

- Their bedtime stories HAVE to include all the characters from Batman, The Justice League, Transformers and, now, Star Wars. In addition, there must be frequent travels between Earth, Tatooine and the planet Hoth. It helps if Dex and Jax get to build a space ship and become Jedi Masters, as well. Too fun.

So, yes, they're keeping me smiling, as usual.

Identical!

The results are in... the boys are identical...same DNA! Though neither result would have surprised me, as there were days I was convinced they were identical and days I thought they looked nothing alike, I have to admit, this makes me look at them so much differently! Weird, right? It also makes me me marvel, all the more, at their individual character traits and personality differences. It's crazy stuff.

Being an identical twin, I assumed that it was impossible for me to have identical twins, myself. I had always read that fraternal twins were hereditary, but identical twins were more of a genetic fluke. It seems, however, that there must be a genetic link, of some sort. I have been able to find other cases of identical twins have identical twins, though, according to D.R.'s medical texts, the likelihood of being an identical twin born by an identical twin is 1 in 92,000. Crazy! (Roughly 3% of all births in the U.S. are twins, 1/3 of those being identical twins.)

Anyway, I feel a LITTLE less guilty for indulging myself early on in dressing them alike so often. :) And, since it makes shopping so much faster and easier when I can just buy two of something, I'm going to continue to let it slide... especially since they're usually each in different colors. Besides, they are very much in the "if he's wearing it, I want to wear it, to0" phase.

Most of all, it feels great to be able to answer that most-popular of questions, "Are your twins identical or fraternal?" :)

Thanksgiving Part II

These photos make me laugh. Shea was so comfy in my dad's arms that she went from looking up at the camera to falling asleep! We miss Granddad! Dex, sharing his enthusiasm!

Always the comedian, Uncle Jonathan spices up photos with Shea with fancy poses and turkey.

Speaking of turkey...Jonathan got the giant drumstick at Mom and Dad's. (Our third Thanksgiving meal in a week!)

Grandpa and Marlys came over to Mom and Dad's place the day after Thanksgiving, which was an extra special treat.

Mmmmm... pumpkin pie and krumkake. Yummy. Dex-left, Jax- right.

A sleepy Shea in the baby cradle with my dad's baby blanket. I loved seeing her like that!And when Shea wakes up because of two noisy brothers, who makes her happy again? Mimi does!

Jaxon and Uncle Jonathan, performing for their fans. Yes, the boys are still total piano magnets. If someone sits down to play, they are INSTANTLY there to join in the fun. Love it.

Mimi and Shea, giggling away.

Daddy and the boys, doing their guy things... :) You know, hugs and wrestles.

Granddad wasn't the only one who could put Shea to sleep! :)

This cracked me up. Mom and Shea were standing in front of a mirror and Shea was just SO taken with herself!

Several weeks before our trip, I mentioned to the boys that Granddad had a pick-up. Naturally, it became the hot topic of bedtime conversation and the boys were THRILLED when Granddad let them clean the leaves out of the back. Yipee! Jax-left, Dex-right.Great Grandpa's trying to teach Shea how to use silverware!

As you can see, Shea LOVES her Great Grandpa!

We did get a family photo, though, I had my camera on a funny setting, so here we are in black and white. Jax-left, Dex-right.

Thanksgiving Part I

Jaxon and Daddy at the restaurant.Shea and Great Grandpa at the restaurant.


Shea with the Great Great Aunts and Uncle... and one of the boys giving a big hug!

The boys entertained themselves with stickers at Great Grandpa's house and Great Great Aunt Corinne was a big help! The boys had the best time running around giving everyone hugs before we left. Somehow, they manage to turn just about anything into a game. The hug game was seriously fun for all involved!