Mirror Images

I love this picture.  Each boy is looking in to a mirror, but it really looks as though there is one boy reflected in a mirror, doesn't it?  They looked so much alike right at that moment.  The haircuts were necessary because their hair was getting long, but also because Jack let Ben cut his hair.  They were quietly playing in the office and then I heard Jack cry, "Ow!"  Never good.  So, I ran up there to find Ben with scissors in hand and Jack sitting patiently next to him.  There were numerous tufts of hair on the ground, so they had been at this for several minutes, at least.  I was impressed that Ben has mastered the skill of using scissors, and that Jack showed enough patience to let Ben do this, but I was less than thrilled about the new 'do' that Jack was sporting.  Luckily, Ben only took some off the back, not the front!

Big Boy Beds

Just after they turned three, we moved the boys out of their cribs and into their 'big boy beds,' or in Ben's case, 'little boy beds.  He still insists that he is not a big boy, he is a little boy, and he is not going to get big or grow up.  It's only by a minute, but he absolutely lives up to his title as the youngest.  The move to beds was pretty sudden.  We just happened to see a great price on nice beds on Craigslist, so we figured we would buy them and eventually use them.  But when the beds got to the house, we realized that we really had no place to store them.  So, at 7pm, down came the cribs as two very excited little guys watched and 'helped' Daddy.  I was afraid Ben would seriously balk at the idea and at leaving his little coccoon, but he was excited!  They jumped on the mattresses and ran around for a while.  We were watching on the monitor after they went to bed, and as expected, Ben was in bed with Jack within ten minutes.  He did eventually go back to his own bed and they had a great first night.  They have been excellent since!  There have definitely been some naps that weren't, and some late nights when they are playing, but we couldn't have asked for them to be better.  Sometimes, Ben will still try to snuggle with Jackie, but Jack kicks him out.  It's funny because as infants, they slept in the same crib, and the reason we finally separated them was because Ben was (literally) smothering Jack.  Some things never change, I guess!

The move to beds was bittersweet for me.  I am so proud of them for all that they are learning to do, and for growing up, but each milestone gets us further away from the baby stage.  With all that went on when our kids were babies, that time went so quickly and was so hectic.  I love my three year olds, but I miss my tiny little infants, sometimes!

I have to say that I am really enjoying the age of three.  It was a tough year when Mairead was three because we were fighting so hard with the school system and dragging her to appointment after appointment.  With the boys, three has been a lot of fun!  There are definitely some challenges in that they are getting more opinionated and try to argue for what they want (one more than the other- guess who?), but they are just doing and saying such interesting things all the time.

For example, you know how they say that twins are double trouble?  One day I literally heard Jack say, "C'mon, Ben, let's go find trouble."  They are mischievous, though.  We have a screen door that leads on to the deck and the other day I heard it slide open as Jack said, "Let's get out of here, Ben."  I said, "Hey- what are you doing?"  Ben immediately said, "Sorry, Mom.  Sorry."  Jack just had a look of, "Aw, shit, she caught us." 

They are incredibly sweet, too.  Yesterday, Jack wasn't feeling well and said, to his brother, "Ben, you need to make me feel better."  Ben immediately jumped up, ran to Jack, and gave him a hug.  And, I believe that it truly did make Jack feel better.  You are probably seeing a pattern here of Jack telling Ben what to do.  I imagine this will eventually lead to, "C'mon, Ben, let's take the car out tonight."

They are good to others, too.  My grandmother gave them some pretzels the other day and Ben yelled to my mom, "Nana!  My Nana gave me some pretzels!  That was very so kind of her!  Thank you, My Nana!"  When one boy is looking for a toy, the other always helps him to find it.  They don't want to go anywhere without the other.  They really are fascinating and fun to watch as they develop their individual personalities, but always retain those bits of 'sameness' that connect them so deeply.  We are so blessed to have them.

I also love having them because since I have twins, I am able to be part of a Mothers of Multiples group that is really great.  There are so many fun activities planned, and a lot of terrific MoMs are in the club.  I have developed some great friendships for which I am very grateful.  There is one set of twins that we see very often, to the point where when we go someplace without them, my kids ask, "But when are Jack and Aidan coming?"  It's sweet to see them develop friendships, too!

Backlog

Not only have things been very busy this Spring, but as I mentioned, my lap top died a while ago, so I have not been posting very much.  I am irrationally sad about the 'death' of my laptop.  I found someone who recovered all of my pictures and documents, but it's still sad.  I sort of resent my new laptop just because it's not my old one.  I told you it was irrational.  Anyway, Dave was kind enough to go get the new one and get me connected to the world again.  It wasn't an expense we wanted to deal with since Dave's job situation for September is still a mystery, but since I work online, it was a necessity.  Anyway, thanks, Dave, for taking care of that.

For the boys' birthday, Stephanie gave them these awesome Thomas scooters.  The weather cooperated early this Spring and they were able to use them right away.  Jack loves his helmet while Ben loves his... plastic fireman hat.  Jimmy and Jessica graciously gave one to Mairead so that she wouldn't be left out of the fun.  Thank you, Stephanie.  They LOVE them!

They even like to ride them in the house!

For Christmas, the (John) Larocque family gave the boys these really cute pjs.  Pretty handsome little Buzz and Woody, right?

Mairead has been drawing so much lately.  This picture is actually a few months old, and she drew it at school.  She keeps impressing us with her abilities.  I have to take some pictures of her latest creations- they are pretty good!

Another fun birthday gift for the boys was this play tent that the (Dan) Larocques gave them.  Mairead loved it and sort of took it over.  She slept in it for part of a few nights and was pretty cute doing it.

One of the early beautiful days of Spring, we went to Penguin Park in Andover and ran in to the kids of good friends of ours.  Mairead was very excited to play with Brady and Nora, and took a special interest in Nora.

She even wrote her a letter the next day!

Mairead has been more interested in pretend play recently, especially in playing dress up.  Even the cat is happy to oblige her.

Spring Soccer

This season, all three kids are playing soccer for LYSA, which is the same organization for which I played when I was younger.  They do a great job with the kids and even at this young age, the kids are starting to learn about the sport, being on a team, sportsmanship, etc.  The boys are together on a 3 year old team and Mairead is on an Under-6 team, which means two games every Saturday at a field across the city.  Dave usually takes whoever is playing while I am home with other(s).  They seem to be more likely to actually play while he is there.  When I go, they want to cling to me.  They are all still a little nervous about it, but they get better every week.  Mairead actually had a great week recently in which she played the entire game and seemed to be much more comfortable.  She tried out the keeper position and seemed to really like that.  I think it would be pretty neat if she turned out to be a goalie, just like her mom.  Last week, a little girl was upset and Dave prompted Mairead to see if she could help.  Mairead went over to the girl and spoke to her and told her to cheer up.  We are thrilled to see that kind of empathy and conversation. 

Since soccer can be a little overwhelming and intimidating for all three of them, we are trying to find a balance between making them at least try each week, trying to get them to be part of the team as much as possible, but being careful not to make soccer something they dread.  I'm really hoping that as they get older they will truly enjoy it.  I have so many great memories of soccer and made some great friends.  True, I have some no so great memories of hard lessons learned, but I think that being on a sports team can teach so much.  I'd love to see them enjoy the experience!

This boy, who was on Mairead's team last year, is seriously a superstar.  The coach sometimes has to make him wait a few minutes while the other kids play before he is allowed to go steal the ball and score.  He is awesome.

Jack and Ben are by far the smallest on their team, maybe in their league!  They just made the age cut-off by a few weeks, so they are pretty much as young as anyone can be to play in the league.  They do a lot of wandering and rarely last more than 10-15 minutes of the game, but we're getting there.  Ben is #1 and Jack is #5.  They both do have some decent skills, so once they warm up to the chaos of it all, I think they will really like playing.  Let's hope so!