Belated Birthday Post #3

Emily planned a party for Sam last Monday on his birthday. It was cake and time with some friends on campus. Sam's been working hard on "happy birthday" in both languages and pretty much has it. He had his school party last week where all the birthday kids can go up and the whole nursery school sings (Emily went, he didn't want to go up this year, but had fun anyways).

He was very excited to see some of his fanclub on campus. Two of the high school students and their families were there. The neighbors came, as well as Sam's friend from campus. We got him some huge balloons--a turtle and his name. When the cake came out he started jumping up and down and dancing. I like these early birthdays, which are really fun but can still be a bit low key. Who knows what next year will bring?

Belated Birthday Post #2

More zoo pictures! Can't wait for #4!

Sam rides an alligator
He was really into the fish--too bad there's no aquarium here
Sam checks out a living ark
The dinosaur house was a lot of fun--now I need to find a natural history museum for him
Can you feel the fear?

Belated Birthday Post #1

Sam's birthday was last week, and I've been meaning to post about it. He really had a fun few weeks. A (awesome) colleague offered to go to the zoo with us, so we took Sam back. The zoo's becoming our annual pilgrimage. I drove this year, which was a first. The weather was bad-good, by which I mean hazy with the constant look of rain, so crowds were small and we had a great time. The highlight this year was probably the inside exhibits--an educational building with life size dinosaur models and the dinosaur house. Sam got scared both time--by the "growling" of the dinosaurs and by an alligator snapping turtle he could watch in a large tank. He liked pushing the buttons to make frog noises. It was just a very nice day.

Sunday Wrap Up

Our weekend is again over. It has again (always!) been a fun, exhausting weekend. Emily's the only cold-free one in the family, but we other four did okay. I had a nice nap this afternoon and took the kids on a walk, which was a break for Emily.

We got the twins a jumper second hand from another foreigner. For the first time in a while I had that "they are growing up too fast" feeling. Sam was REALLY excited about the jumper, but, of course, it is for the babies :( He was able to play with all the spinning plastic pieces and the fuzzy little animals, but no jumping for him. We went on Amazon and I showed him pictures of all little babies in it. I told him the babies are too small and he's too big. He's really not jealous much, but I know it will be more of an issue in the coming months and years. I often feel bad that he's having to become the eldest child. Maybe it's the seminary training. I realize that in some sense he's being burdened with an extra expectation of goodness and kindness. We're working hard on him to say please, thank you, and sorry. I praise him when he greets visitors and says goodbye. I try to get him to give hugs to people when they leave. We praise him for helping out with binky's for the twins, or fetching a diaper. I know this is just the way human nature works and we want him to be kind and conscientious, but I still feel a little guilt that he has to be the responsible one.

The babies were very cute today. Eva does a thing where I pull her up the hands and kiss her on the cheek. She really likes that. I also had her doing little leg exercises today, which she loved. I made her do kicking and bicycling motions, and she smiled the whole time. Her little legs are getting very chubby. Eli is still quite the giggler. He's a little easier to get to sleep, although for some reason he wasn't as good of a napper today. Eva's responses seem a bit more urgent. When she's hungry, she's hungry NOW. When she's ready to go to bed, it must happen immediately. I know they still are cycling through personalities--nothing's set in stone yet. They're both pretty good babies.

I got almost nothing else done today. It helps to have beautiful weather. We're in a kind of golden period now. The mosquitoes haven't arrived, it's staying light a bit later, it's not too hot and not too cold. We're leaving behind the cold days, and have not yet reached buggy/roasting.

Other news. I just got some will-maker software, in case Emily and I bump ourselves off. Have any of the other parents out there done a will? Advice? Warnings? (I have this suspicion I lost most of my regular readers after the vasectomy post, but I hope some of you stuck around.) Every so often I have this awareness that, hey, we have a huge number of kids. I felt mildly more responsible with Sam, but now that we're employed and have, you know, fifty pounds of kids running around in three directions, I am wanting to get my act together on things. I have low-level life insurance through denom and have started small college funds, but we're still pretty up in the air on all of this. What does responsible parenthood look like? We're somewhere between the hyper-preparedness of the burbs and the "God will provide" of your classic mission types. A will seems like the responsible thing to do. Anyone? Anyone? The software is pretty straight forward, so I think the main thing will be family-coordination and actually filling out the forms.

Okay, on that note, I am calling it a night. Thank you all for tuning in!

Nemo

The campus is really beautiful lately, and sunny days brighten our moods

Sam's really into fish lately for some reason (with turtles a close second). The last time I was at Costco, I bought two sets of Disney/Pixar films, remarkably none that we owned. The first one we got for Sam was Finding Nemo, and he's really been enjoying it. He must have watched it at school, because he seemed familiar with the plot. After watching it only a couple of times, he already knows some of the phrases in Local Language. It's really fun to watch him dancing and talking. It's like he is an amalgam of us and this culture. He's a pretty happy kid, although increasingly strong willed. One night I let him adjust the water temperature on his bath, and now we've had to nix his desire to alternate adding cold and hot until the water overflows. He's at the toddler stage where he has almost unlimited energy and also a high degree of stubborness. Still, he's distractable and has a fairly sweet temperment. I don't want to forget this phase, because it's just really fun. He's willing to give people hugs and kisses goodbye and likes to "help" with tasks (although we asked him to throw out a diaper today and he put it in the toilet--still working on specifics).

I told a friend today that I feel like Emily and I together accomplish the work of one person, but the nanny does the work of two people. So, she watched the twins, cooked lunch with leftovers for dinner, washed both kids, and continues to help us with daily life logistics (ordering replacement items, getting things fixed, figuring out where to pay bills, etc.). I know this won't last forever, so it's important for us to keep a sense of gratitude without getting TOO used to the help. Honestly, this would be nearly impossible if we were on our own. I still sometimes wonder how we ended up with twins, and its only through grace and unexpected providence that we have a semblance of normal life. Our nanny is also networked in the church and knows the school, so she's helping us figure out social relations here, which are still the thing that probably most baffles me. It helps to have someone experienced who has an intuitive grasp of teacher/student/staff relations, of church politics, how to get things done, etc.

I'm feeling like I'm mostly put together. I liked my class today. My language skills need work, but with iffy spoken language and translated powerpoints and activities and video clips, I can do at least a solidly OK two hour class.

The rest of my work is coming along. I was talking to my dad yesterday and we talked about "over-functioning." Post-birth, I'm back in language classes, working on many projects, filing medical receipts, starting a newsletter, organizing guest speakers, etc., etc., and I find it hard to keep the pieces together sometime. I told Emily I think we need a real vacation this summer--perhaps a full week at the beach, or in a new city, or something comparable. I think we've done a lot and come a long ways, and the momentum has kept us going, but at some point we will need some time of pure rest and sabbath.

More another time. I have a bit of a cold, and despite two naps today, I'm just tired out. Tomorrow's a new day.

The Fam

Here's our most recent family picture. (Sadly, the weather has turned cold just in the week it was taken.) For some reason, it's rare to get the five of us in a single photo, so worth sharing!

Otherwise, life is good. I helped with a visitor last week, which is making me improve several skill sets (driving, coordinating with office staff, etc.). Emily's back in language, working hard. I did a Costco trip today (exhausting!), but we're now stocked up on cheese, coffee, and whatnot.

No other news to report. It's nice to be back into the week

Tummy Time

Parents are supposed to give their babies "tummy time." It helps them to grow stronger and to acquire the ability to turn over and crawl. Emily uses it the way a parent is supposed to, as a type of exercise. I often use it as a punishment! If they are already crying and won't stop, I give them some tummy time. Often it seems to wear them out a little and I figure they are already mad.

They're both coming along great. We call the way they stick their heads up "turtling." They're both getting there quickly. I foresee rolling over in the next month or so and perhaps crawling sometime this summer. Time will tell!