We visiting Sarah at work last week and the boys discovered the joy of boxes! They loved watching one of their baby DVDs and seemed so pleased with themselves... each in his own box! 

Can we bring these boxes home with us? This movie is WAY more fun to watch if you're sitting in a box. 

What fun is getting wet if you can't crawl around in freshly mown grass? Yummy! (This is Dex) 

The boys' friend Hailey has been nice enough to share her wading pool with them. They LOVE it!! (Jax-left; Dex-right) 

I love this photo of Jax. The boys have so much personality that sometimes I forget they're only 10 months old! He looks so little and baby-like in this picture. 

A recent discovery the boys have made is that they can open cupboards. Yes, this makes for some loud percussion in the kitchen, as most of my pots and pans find their way onto the kitchen floor by evening...! Their favorite cupboard, however, is one of the hutch cupboards we use to store some of their storybooks. One day, while exploring this particular cupboard, Jax discovere he fit inside, quite perfectly. They love it in there!! They especially like it when we close the door on them (no, they don't seem to be afraid of the dark), wait a few seconds, and then open it, as if we're suprised to find them in there. This is one of our favorite new games! 

Dex's turn! 

Woo-hoo! This is awesome! Can we make this our permanent bedroom? (Dex-left; Jax-right) 

Hey, who's kissing me?! (Jax and Uncle Jonathan) 

First playdate!

The boys had their first playdate (or should I say... double date) this week! We have been trying to arrange a playdate with the adorable twin girls who live next door for the past several months, but it seems that between the four children, one of them is always sick or asleep! Yesterday, it finally happened! The girls are almost a year old (yep, older women) and taught the boys plenty of new tricks, including: how to gnaw on veggie sticks, how to crawl super duper fast and how to crawl up the stairs.

I wish I had taken photos of the four of them together! Hopefully, we'll be able to make this happen a bit more often! It was fun for me to see the boys interacting with other children their age, too. Jax and Dex are so used to playing with each other... they love wrestling and rolling around together... and we discovered that not all chilren their age play in quite the same manner! The girls were definitely not as physical as the boys tend to be. Hmmm.... Does this mean I'm in for some rowdy toddler years? Yikes!! Anyway, the boys got such a kick out of following the girls around and trying to touch their faces. It was so cute! It didn't really matter what the girls were doing, the boys thought it was just the cat's meow. Jax had a serious case of the giggles, laughing the second one of the girls would pay even the slightest bit of attention to him, which kept the moms laughing, too. I hope they continue to enjoy other children, like this!

Interestingly enough, before the playdate was over, I received a surprise visit from another mom and baby that we met in the community earlier in the week. She has a cute little 8-month old boy and just wanted to pop by and say hello! I have to say, as excited as I am for the boys to have little playdates, I'm equally excited to have some new mom friends in the neighborhood. This is one of the great benefits of living where we do... Looks like it could be a pretty fun summer for all of us!

Ten-Month Photo?!

Over the past week, I have tried and TRIED to get a good photo of the boys together. Ha! If I can get them to sit still together, I can't get them both to look at me... and most of the time, I can't even get them to sit still for more than two seconds. I even recruited D.R. for my third and final attempt... still no luck. In looking back over the photos I took, I might not have a nicely posed photo, but I do believe I have managed to capture the silliness and wiggliness of this age. :) (Jax-left; Dex-right) 

My second attempt

Once again, the boys were MUCH too interested in everything around them to look at me for even a second! This age is so much fun because they are quite inquisitive and love exploring their surroundings. However, it makes trying to get a nice photo of the two of them near-impossible! (Dex-left; Jax-right)

Okay, here's the plan: when Mom starts to take the photo, you look one way and I'll look the other! Deal? 

Mama, we can't look at you right now! Jax is focusing on trying to keep his toes from touching the grass and I'm trying to decide which blade to stick in my mouth first! Priorities!! 

I giggle everytime I look at the photo. Jax was way too interested in the children playing behind them and Dex was giving me the silliest face. 

Try #3

Run, Jax! I'll stall Daddy as long as I can! (Dex-left, Jax-right) 

Ha ha! We have evaded you, once more! Try as you may, you will never catch us! (Jax-left, Dex-right) 

We'll pose in a sec, just let me finish snacking on Jax's arm! 

What is this, a party? Yipee!!!! 

You'll never catch both of us, Daddy! 

Oh, Daddy! Do you really think you're faster than us? (Dex-left; Jax- right)

Hee hee hee!! We love wiggling as fast!!! Just try to get us to sit still! 

Mom, why don't you just give up already? We'd much rather be rolling around giggling! 

Ah-ha!!! We have triumphed!!! There will be no ten-month photo!!! What a fun game! 

I vant to suck your, um... er... you know

People ask me all the time whether the boys are identical or fraternal. I'll be running errands or out of a walk, and inevitably, the question will come up. Since we really have no idea, it's a difficult question to answer. It's hard to say, "I don't know," to a stranger, because it opens up a realm of further questions. "Why don't you know?" "Don't they do tests when they're born?" "But, do you think they're identical/fraternal?" Most of the time I'm just tempted to fib and answer a short "yes" or "no." That would probably be easier!

Anyway, it's been such a thrill watching them grow and change. Some weeks they look so different and other weeks they look so very alike. They're currently looking so similar that D.R. and I are frequently getting them mixed up. Of course, if we look closely we can tell them apart, but in the course of a fast-paced day it's easy to pick up a Dex when you think you're getting a Jax (and vice versa!).

Growing up, Sarah and I developed in much the same way. Considering we're identical twins, this makes sense, right? Specifically, I remember teeth falling out at about the same time (within days) and, for example, we both only got three of our wisdom teeth. In fact, our dentist always used to get a kick out of our visits, because our teeth were completely identical.

Recently, I've been reflecting back on these things as the boys' teeth are both coming in at the same time and in the same way. Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a deal, as most children get teeth in the same order: bottom middle teeth followed by the top middle teeth. The boys, however, after getting their bottom middle teeth a few months ago (within days of each other), have started getting their next two teeth.... but not their top middle two. Yes, it's true, we have two adorable little vampires. They're both getting their top canines first. Apparently, this is rather unusual, though certainly not abnormal. Hmmm.... Nursing is scary enough when they start getting teeth, but getting vampire teeth?! This is a whole new adventure! I'm imagining them hissing and baring their fangs before latching on.... yikes! :)

Is this a clue as to their zygosity? Who knows! Only time will tell, I guess, but it sure is fun seeing how similarly they've been growing and changing! What a trip!

Daddy and Dex

The boys tend to be pretty high-paced little guys. Most of the time, they are just going, going and GOING! Every once in a while, though, we get one of those great moments when they decide it's time for a nice little cuddle. 

My little Jax-in-a-box

Who would have thought doing laundry could be so much fun?