Brothers

It must be so fun to always have a buddy. Whether they are tackling each other or hugging, stealing toys or sharing, they always have a buddy around to play with. The other day, we were at the Woodland play area and twice I noticed Tyler mid-climb on the banana or bowl of shredded wheat suddenly looking around, calling for "Sam, Sam." He just was wondering where his buddy went. And one morning last week, while Sam was still in his crib, he spotted Tyler out with mommy in the hall already and shouted "Tyler!" -- to which Ty immediately responded with "Sam!" and ran towards his crib.

Raising twins has been an interesting parenting experiment and it really shows you just how different personalities can be, regardless of how you parent. Sam is much more likely to want a certain cup, toy or blanket while Tyler is much easier to please and is generally willing to switch for which ever cup, toy or blanket Sam doesn't want (as long as he gets one, of course). Sam loves sports -- he carried his "glub" (aka glove) around for the whole week last week and he is actually pretty good at throwing and hitting off the tee. Tyler likes sports too but he is often content to "golf" (hit a ball on the ground rather than off the tee) while Sam is hitting homers. On that note, though, I must say I am very proud to say that they take turns really well with the tee lately. They love to announce "My turn!" and the other one backs up out of the way.

They are both very verbal lately and will repeat anything you say. On top of that, they also come up with their own sentences or responses to questions that actually make sense. The other day, Sam said to me totally unpromted, "I want ice cream" (definitely my son). They both are getting really good at naming all their cousins (their pictures are on the fridge). They suddenly love Elmo. They both started counting (for which I must give credit to either Kathy or Gramma because they didn't get that from me) and are working on colors and shapes too. There is a whole lot of learning going on in those cute little heads!

We bought our third crib last week and while I know that sounds crazy, I wasn't ready for the hassle of keeping Sam and Ty in big boy beds while moving them to an upstairs bedroom. We bought it on Craigslist and I figure we can always resell it. Funny enough though, two days later Sam showed me just how big he's getting by both climbing in and climbing out of his crib all on his own (neither of which did I actually witness, just the after-effects). He was so proud of himself. He kept saying "I did it!" for about 10 minutes afterward. He hasn't done it since though and I haven't reminded him of his new talent. We have yet to really make the changes around here to prepare for little bud (like moving the boys upstairs and finishing the construction in the basement) but I am aiming for the first of December for everything to be done ...