Shopping Buzz

Taking them grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do. It really makes me so happy. I love talking to them, telling them the name of everything and reciting my shopping list to them. I can talk and talk to them just like I'm talking to myself, only no one thinks I'm crazy. They get especially excited in the produce section. They proudly point and shout, "BANANAS! GRAPES!" I love it! The grocery store makes them happy too. They get to ride in the big cart that looks like a car with two steering wheels! That's the only one that will work for two kids, so I'm very glad they have it although it is a little difficult to steer. At least it fits between all the aisles, unlike in department stores (see Fairy Clothes Mothers). They even get to see their dad who works in the pharmacy there. If we go and he's not working at that particular time, Emma will call out for him all over the store: "Daddy....wa ahh you???"

They're a lot like me in the grocery store, very chatty and happy. We're out of the house! We're out of the house! They talk to each other, say hello to people as they pass. It's like a social event, ha ha! If we're lucky, we sometimes get a bite from the sample trays in the produce section, or better, the bakery. They also like to give hugs and kisses to each other in the grocery store. Now and then someone catches them, and they get a sweet smile or someone may stop to chat along with them.

 It's funny how people will talk to your kids in the grocery store and never even glance up at you. And the funny faces and voices they do crack me up. I use a silly voice right back as I respond to their questions for the kids, lol! Sometimes a person may even reach out and poke one of the kids in the side playfully, even add a sound effect, or scruff their hair. Isn't that funny? No one would ever do that to an adult stranger. But they think it's fine with kids. I should do a grocery store video documentary. It would be hilarious.

 One time when the kids were just learning to say thank you and other Baby Graces, Ethan was thanking me for every thing I put in the cart. I loved that so much. That's what he kept saying: "Thank you so much, Mommy!" It was right around Thanksgiving time as I recall, so it seemed even more appropriate. People were looking at him with the most appreciative gazes as they overheard him, and I was so proud of my little thankful boy. He was spreading his little heart's joy all over the store. What is it about that place? It just brings out the best in all three of us.

Ethan has a little celebration chant for the checkout line: "Choc'-late, choc'-late, choc'-late, choc'-late!" He grips the handle bar and bobs his head.

But I have learned that not all people share our shopping sentiments. For instance, it's best to shop when their daddy is busy working or at home. He's a grocery shopping buzz-kill. Ha ha! He nickels and dimes every item, making sure we get the best deal, vetoes most of my whims and...just takes the fun out of shopping, honestly. God knows I love him, and he has good intentions, watching the budget, yadda yadda yadda. Not much fun if you ask me. I'm not a big shopper in other areas of my life. I watch my spending; I make sacrifices, but this is food. There is no way this is wasteful spending if we actually eat what we buy. I take care to make healthy choices with a few goodies in between....

So, I rest my case.

Shop and Be Merry!

Santa Baby

Last year, Santa was called "Ho-ho-ho." There were Ho-ho-hos every where, on the mantle, on the refrigerator, on the Christmas tree, at Mimi's house, in lots of front yards, even at the grocery store...and then one day... they were all gone. Ethan was especially concerned with his disappearance. "Ho-ho-ho?" he kept asking well into January.

This year, the memories started coming back to him when he saw the Halloween decor popping up in our neighborhood, in the stores and everywhere. "Ho-ho-ho!" he said. Wow, he remembers! I can see the resemblance...kind of. The bright colors, the neighborhood hype, the blow-up inflatables, the sudden and temporary themes blasted all over town.

This year we decided the kids should meet the real Ho-ho-ho himself. As we drove to the mall with the kids in the car, I felt a looming sense of guilt. I felt like I was driving my kids to be traumatized. They really had no preparation for it. I knew they wouldn't like it. It seemed mean. How could they like this? He's a big, strange man with long white hair, a burly beard hiding his face, and he's wearing a bright red suit with strange fluff all over it. To make matters worse, he is sitting in a strange, white cage-like construction. And their parents will walk them into the cage, put them in his arms and walk away, oddly smiling at them and waving, wondering why this isn't awesome.... Plus, I already feel bad about the "story". It has started. We're telling our kids that this man knows them, loves them, watches them, and will be sneaking into our house when we are asleep. Sigh. Merry Christmas, kids. Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

If I was thinking right and really on the ball, I would have introduced Santa gradually before asking them making them sit on his lap. Seems like I did the whole Santa thing backwards. That's me, I guess. Figuring things out after they've already gone wrong. The hard way seems to be the only direction I know most of the time.

As we approached him in the mall, I tried to use my cheerful, excited voice to point him out: "Look! It's Santa Clause, kids! Say hi! Santa is so nice! Let's go see Santa Clause!" Lol. When we finally made it to the front of the line, I walked Emma and Rodney walked Ethan closer to Santa. "Hi, Santa! Say hi, Emma." At this point, she was pulling back and sticking her bottom lip out. She looked so scared. "It's okay, baby. He's nice! See?" She started whining louder and getting red in the face. "Come on, Baby. Say hi! Let's sit on Santa's lap, okay? It's okay." I lifted her up into his lap as I told Santa that he may have to really hold her at the waist. Let's just get this over with, I thought. I stayed beside her for a few more seconds and said again in my most cheerful voice, "Santa is so nice! Hi, Santa!"

She looked at Santa, and through her petrified cries, bravely managed the words, "Hi, baby." Sweetest words ever spoken to a stranger.

Rodney placed Ethan on his other knee and he whined a little, but surprisingly sat there for several beats before he started trying to get down (being unrestrained) but the photographer managed to get a picture.

I lovingly decided that maybe they should have a few more encounters with Santa that didn't involve getting forced into his lap. So we went to the mall again for Christmas shopping and the kids just looked at him...just stood and stared without returning the friendly waves. Emma started to cry. Poor baby thought her mom was going to have the red, fluffy man hold her down again and stand there five feet away smiling at her terror. "Emma, you don't have to sit on his lap this time. We're just saying hi, okay? He is so nice, huh?" And then we moved on. She seemed relieved. After we got home, she ran to their picture with Santa that was sitting on our end table in the living room and said, "Hi, Sis Clause! Mmmmaa!"

The last time we saw Santa this year was with our friends, Necole and Colton. They invited us to come to the bank down the road from our house because Santa would be there giving out two dollar bills and cookies! So we went, again without intentions of sitting on his lap. This time Emma didn't cry, and Ethan didn't seem as afraid. Colton was very excited to sit on his lap and told him what he wanted for Christmas. I think that may have helped too. I gave Santa a high five as I held Emma and kept reassuring her that he was so nice and that he loved her. She just leaned her head on my shoulder and held on to me tight. I was proud of her for her improved nearness to Santa. Necole had Ethan and asked him if he wanted to go to Santa. He declined and pulled back toward Necole. But he was willing to give him a high five! Brave boy!

Santa talked Necole and me into sitting on his lap while we held the babies and Colton could stand in the middle. That way, we could get a free picture and the two dollar bill! I said no at first, but he kept insisting and patting his knee. So we did, and I think it did them good to see that their mother could sit on his lap, too... even when she didn't really want to.

Hostage Situation

Emma got sick on her first slumber party with her cousins. She must've picked up a bug somewhere in the few days before when we were out running all over town. I was shocked when my sister told me she vomited. That hasn't happened since White Rain. I felt terrible that my sister had to deal with that on her first time with them overnight. And I heard later that her kids got sick after mine left. :( Both Emma and Ethan's Christmas pajamas had to be washed. She told me that she'd given Emma a much needed bath that night without Ethan and that he had cried and cried outside the door. That was their first bath without the other since they have been taking a bath in the big tub. Amy said she thought it was odd that Emma didn't cry or whine because she had "been sick" all over their air mattress and must've been feeling awful. How ironic that it was Ethan who needed comforting outside the bathroom door, being worried and left alone without his other half.

Emma was running a high fever when we picked her up. We treated her symptoms and let her sleep with her daddy in our room when she got home. I was dreading the inevitable infection of Ethan. It's impossible to keep them separate. Well, not impossible I guess, but it makes things so much more difficult. I think I would probably need help, a sitter to be with my well child. Plus, they cry if they are isolated from the other for any amount of time, especially at bed time and especially if they know the other is near, being withheld. If I were to take Ethan into our room, or vise versa, for bedtime or make effort to keep him away from her for her entire sickness, I honestly believe it would cause her more stress in time of weakness and I can't stand that. At the same time, I feel like I am not protecting Ethan from this sickness that he will surely get if I don't remove him.

So he sleeps beside her in the crib even though she has a fever. And yes, a few days later, he came down with the same bug. By that time, Emma was better. But she also slept by her brother's side in his time of sickness. In the morning when I went in to check on them because they hadn't woken by 8:00, they were both sleeping so soundly and peacefully. They had both moved to the other end of the crib because Ethan had thrown up on their usual end. It smelled terrible. Poor babies. And then I looked closer and saw that Emma had throw-up all in her hair and  on her shirt. Ethan too. They are like hostages to the other's sickness. I cannot imagine being puked on. I was never puked on by my sister or any one else. But I wasn't a co-sleeping twin. I didn't live my life side-by-side with my sibling.

They didn't seem to mind being covered in puke, but I stripped them down, stripped their bed and put them in the bath tub immediately.

Even aside from the co-sleeping, they would still undoubtedly infect each other every time. They share sippy cups no matter how hard you try to keep them separate. They kiss and hug. They want to be right next to each other a lot, so who am I to keep them apart, to tell them, "No, you can't sleep with your brother tonight. Lay in there and cry all night. Don't touch your brother; don't breathe on him," etc.?

When they get older, things will be easier to explain. They will surely understand more about germs and sickness, and how to stay well. But for now, judge me not, I think it's best that they just endure toddler storms together, comfort each other in a way that I can't, help each other fight the same viruses, build immunity together.

Together, in sickness and in health.

Kacie's Story: "Kacies 1st time babysitting Emma and Ethan"

This post is written by Kacie Ashing:

Kacies 1st time babysitting Emma and Ethan

When I first got to the Garland's house, I thought to myself this is going to be fun. Later Aunt LeeAnn told me to feed them because it was their dinner time. I fed them Ethan ate really good. Emma did not. When LeeAnn started to leave Emma saw her mom and dad go out the door and she started to cry. Then I picked her up and walked her around and I was telling her its going to be okay. Later she stopped crying and we went in the living room and Emma ran to me and I picked her up and she went in the air. Ethan wanted to do that to. I let him. They both did that for a long time. Then we finally quit. We were all wore out. LeeAnn told me that I could go get a drink out of the garage if I wanted to. I decided I needed a drink. I put the babies in the kitchen right by the garage. I started to go in the garage and Emma had got up on the bar stool without me knowing. Then she flipped off. But surprisingly, it was before I was out the door to the garage. Emma was not screaming crying. She was just whining. So I picked her up and walked her around and was saying it's going to be okay again. She stopped whining. She had a red spot on the side of her leg. She did not hit her head. I was thankful for that. Then later I took them into their bedroom Ethan was whacking his drums. Emma was playing with her doll. We played in there for a while. Then later we went back to the living room. Emma was watching tv. I was letting Ethan click the button on my phone to turn the screen on. Justin Bieber was on there. I told Ethan that is Justin Bieber. Then he repeated it. It was so cute! Then both Emma and Ethan began to watch tv. I just sat in the chair and watched too! Later Emma came and got into my lap and was acting tired. Then Ethan came and got into my lap too! Then I thought they both must be getting sleepy. So I took them back into their bedroom we were all playing in their toddler bed. Emma was laying down and I decided to lay on Emmas tummy. Then I jumped up and said Peek a boo! both Emma and Ethan started to laugh. I did that over and over. Ethan would tell me to lay back down and do it again. It was funny! Later I took them back into the living room to wait till their mom and dad got home. But first I changed their diapers, brushed their teeth and put them into their pajamas. Later their mom and dad walked in. Emma jumped up and screamed. Then later Aunt LeeAnn took them to bed. Both babies gave me a hug before they went. Then me and LeeAnn and Rodney talked about what happened during the babysitting and they talked about the scary movie. Then later my mom walked in to pick me up. Then I went home and told my mom what happend on my first time babysitting.

Wax On, Wax Off!

I have dark hair, so I kind of have a little bit of dark-ish peach fuzz on my upper lip that I call my mustache. Embarrassing, right? Ew. It's not that noticeable, but I notice it and I hate it. I use those wax strips from Walmart or wherever, you know, the plastic ones that you heat with friction and then separate the two-ply plastic, apply...and then RIP them off! There's no better way to do it. It lasts for a long time, and it doesn't grow back prickly. Ahhh, I feel somewhat liberated from having shared this so publicly.  Well, semi-publicly. Not that many people read this little blog, so those of you who do are sort of like my anonymous, faceless family. :)  So there you have it. I wax my upper lip from time to time, lol.

So, one morning, I was just going about my business, getting ready to rid myself of the peach mustache and Emma and Ethan happened to be in the bathroom with me. They like hanging out in there when I'm getting ready, especially when I'm listening to music. I started rubbing the strip between my hands, heating it up, and that got their attention. They watched carefully as I quickly moved my hands back and forth to the beat of the song on my iPod. Then I pulled it apart and told them it was like a sticker, one of their favorite things.

"Sticker!" they said. They started reaching for the other half of it, wanting to use it themselves, I assume. "No, babies. Trust me, you want no part of this sticker," I said. I began pressing it on one side of my upper lip and rubbing it on really well. Then, I closed my eyes and braced myself--"UHHHNNN!!!" I growled as I RIPPED it off as quickly as I could in the opposite direction of the hair growth.

Both of my children had horrified expressions on their faces. "UHHHHH!!" Emma mocked.
"Hurts really bad!" Ethan noted. I laughed out loud at their reactions. They were just standing there side-by-side, staring at me in the mirror with their hands up by their faces, gripping the bathroom counter. I guess I have done this so many times that I didn't think of just how dramatic it could be for two little first-time observers. Emma looked really sad for me. So did Ethan. "Hurts really bad!" he repeated with the cutest little scrunched eyebrows.

"Yes, it does hurt really bad. But I'm okay," I smiled even though my eyes were watering from the sting.

Round two.

I repeated the process for the other side and I still had their full attention. I guess they were going to have to learn of the harsh realities that women put themselves through in the name of beauty some time. It might as well be now and it might as well be from me...right?

"MMMM!" I tried to control my outward response this time, but it is so ingrained in me...and it really does hurt really bad. This had become too much for Emma. She poked out her bottom lip and started to cry. What a sweet angel she is. "It's okay, baby! Mommy's okay. I should not hurt myself on purpose, huh?" It seemed really ridiculous as I imagined what she had just witnessed and what she could be thinking of it. Am I impressing on this little tiny girl too soon some sort of odd and morbid self-hatred that she'll never forget? Lol, I hope not.

I read an article the other day about a woman who had decided to start telling her daughter that she was beautiful. She started saying, "Sweetie, I'm feeling very beautiful today," and so on. She wanted to stop the hateful comments against herself and the perpetual dissatisfaction with herself from infecting her daughter when she reaches adulthood. I think it's a really good idea. People tell me all the time that Emma looks like me and I think she is the most beautiful girl in the world.

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. I'm feeling very beautiful today. Go, me!

Sugar Baby

The first time Emma had something sweet was when she was about 2 months old. Rodney let her suck on a piece of watermelon...or was it cantaloupe? Anyway, her eyes got really big and she grabbed on with both hands and wouldn't let go. It was hilarious to see her so aggressive. When her daddy pried it away, she was devastated. So he gave it back.

Later, we let her have a bite of ice cream or a lick of an orange cream popsicle. She and Ethan are now hopelessly drawn with great magnetic force to every popsicle or ice cream bowl they ever see. Once on the playground, Emma spotted an old mini Blue Bell ice cream container in the gravel. She picked it up and immediately raised it to her mouth. She knew what that was--birthday party ice cream! I was watching from above on the big toy, so I caught her before she could taste the sticky, dirty vanilla--"EMMA, NO! That's dirty trash!" She threw the cup down hard and ran away, startled, irritated, humiliated.

If they see you having a treat, they each make a beeline to your side. One perches on the arm of your chair and the other crawls up in your lap. They lick their lips and open their mouths like little baby birds. They chant, "bite o' ice cream, bite o' ice cream, bite o' ice cream...mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm...." When you pull it back to take your turn, they pine and pine, stare at what remains of the popsicle, puff in and out, move their faces closer and closer. You'd think I'd give them some discipline for their bad manners. We all have our weakness. Theirs is sugar. Mine is them.

After the popsicle is gone, Ethan moves on, but Emma is terribly upset. She suddenly forgets how nice you were to share, and she focuses on how mean you were to run out. She starts in with the guilt trip. It's already gone? You take bigger bites! Isn't there any more??  Sugar is her kryptonite. Her bones turn to mush, causing her to drop to the floor in a puddle of despair. She may even bang her face on the carpet for extra effect. Then, she picks herself up and drags her limp body over to the couch and throws her upper body on the cushion, wailing and wailing in the highest pitch with her arms overhead like in one of those dramatic dying scenes from a black and white movie. Poor little damsel in distress. She looks out of the corner of her eye to see if I'm getting all of this. She is so expressive and sensitive like her momma. Her brows are pulled down and raised in the middle as if she is thinking, "OMG! I cannot believe this is happening to me! How will I ever live?"

I try not to laugh at my daughter when she's upset, but it's pretty funny. "Ohhh, I know. I'm so sorry, sugar baby," I say, and I really am.  I start jokingly telling her she is "going to have to face it. It's gone." Pretty soon, Ethan starts repeating me:

"Face it," he says. "All gone. Face it." Such a realist.

Emma starts getting over it very gradually. First, her brows relax, but she keeps wailing for several more minutes, hypnotized by the siren song. Soon, her mouth relaxes too and the pitch drops to her normal tone. A minute or two later, she's finally quiet. Defeated. No more cookies come, no more candy, no more orange cream popsicle.

Just Emma with a sugar hangover and an orange mustache.

Tubby Time-Out

Ethan acts up during baths and he thinks it's so funny. He stands up over and over and I harshly tell him to sit down over and over as I help him to his seat. Or he lays down over and over and I tell him to sit up over and over. I don't want him to slip and fall or get water in his ears, get swimmer's ear or something. I lift him up by the back of his head again and again and he laughs himself silly no matter how serious I try to look and sound. I have this fear of a "dry drowning" ever since I watched that Oprah episode of the 10 year old child who went swimming, unknowingly got water in his lungs and died hours later of suffocation. I can't imagine a tragedy like that. Actually, I imagine tragedies like that more often than anyone should. They say information is power, but information can also be terrifying.

If he slips and falls, gets water in his nose, or gets choked on water from his antics, it's very scary for him and me, and he immediately panics, stands up and wants his mommy. I would think that would teach him to heed his mother's warnings. But it doesn't.

Nothing I say upsets him, and none of my threats have any value. One time, I swatted his butt during his game, and he didn't even seem to notice. He just kept right on breaking tubby rules and laughing all the way.  A little red mark appeared on his little butt where I'd swatted him, and I felt terrible. I knew that had to have stung, but he didn't show it. Still laughing like a little hyena. Emma even joins in sometimes too. They are in the tubby and that's like home base. They seem to know that time-out is not happening because I can't just leave one in the tub alone or put them in the time-out crib soaking wet. And time-out after the bath doesn't happen either. I have to hurry and get their diapers back on and get them dressed before they pee all over the house. By the time I have them dressed, the time-out I promised in the tub is long forgotten or feels too removed from the incident.

Tonight I decided to try something new, a tubby time-out. He started his laying down game and I told him he's gonna get time-out in the tubby if he does it again. Of course, he did it again. So I lifted his head as usual, and slid him in his seated position to the corner of the tub and the wall. "Tubby time-out," I said. I held him in place with his nose in the corner for probably about 20 seconds. He cried and cried just like he does in regular time-out. I kept tubby-time-out shorter than regular time-out since I was having to hold him in place. I felt a little like a bully on the play ground as I did it. But he seemed to see after two tubby time-outs that Mommy was winning the game now and it was no longer fun. 

Mommy-1

Ethan-50

Game over. Mommy wins!

Note From Nannie and Pawpaw Hodge

Papaw and Gramma

 Rodney's mother lost her battle with breast cancer about 8 years ago. It is heartbreaking that she was not able to meet Emma and Ethan in person, but I believe she is with us. She sees them. She loves them. There are moments when I am holding the babies that I can honestly feel her presence and I know that she is smiling. This may sound a little far-fetched, but when they were infants, there were even moments that I could swear the babies might even have seen her spirit standing there.

I show them her picture in the hallway and tell them, "That's your grandma, Nancy," and they repeat me. From the rocking chair in their room, they can see the picture down the hall, and on a few occasions when I've been rocking them at night, Emma has looked down the hall and said, "Grandma." It makes me happy.

I know that she's proud of the man her son has become, and I know that she is happy that her parents are able to spend so much time with her twin grandbabies. I also know that she approves of her husband's progress in his life as well, and that she smiles on the partnership he has found in his new wife, Janis. She is in a place where there is no jealousy and no bitterness. She is in a place where there is only love. The kids call Janis "Gramma." Janis loves them very much. We all love her too. She didn't have children herself, so I know it must bring her special joy to be called Gramma and to watch them grow.

They live out of town so we don't get to see them very often, but when we do, we enjoy ourselves so much. We always have so much to catch up on. They live on a beautiful piece of property by the lake about an hour and a half away. The kids enjoy exploring all over the place. This summer they loved walking through the vegetable garden and digging in the dirt for potatoes with their dad and their Papaw.

Emma is very affectionate with her Papaw and it amazes me. She is very selective with her affection and she doesn't get to see him that much. He must have that special Papaw Magic. Maybe it is because he turns his attention towards them for most of the time that they are together. He speaks in a loving tone and tells them that they're Papaw's babies.

On our most recent visit, Gramma let Emma play with some old colorful glasses with the lenses popped out, and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. Mommy never lets her play with her glasses. She even let her play with some pretty, old watches. Emma walked around the living room like a queen with her glasses that fit her face surprisingly well, and her arms bent out in front of her, so as not to drop her bracelets. Papaw said she looked sophisticated and I said she looked like she had freshly painted fingernails and didn't want to mess them up.

Papaw let Ethan play with all of his duck calls. He showed them how they all sound and Ethan said, "Loud sound!" and "Loud sound again!"  Then he hung them all on Ethan's neck. He was so excited! But he just couldn't seem to make a loud sound himself. His wind pipe wasn't strong enough to make the duck calls work. We kept trying to tell him to take a deep breath and really puff! Finally, he was able to and he didn't stop for a long time. "Loud sound again!" Papaw even gave him a very special duck call, one that his dad had given him. Now, when we're at home, Ethan wants his special duck call all the time and makes plenty of loud sounds whenever he wants.

After we played inside and ate a big Thanksgiving dinner, we all went on a walk through the yard by the garden plot and out past the shed.

When Papaw sat down at the picnic table for a rest, Ethan took him by the hand and pulled him, pushed at his body, telling him to "get up." Papaw let himself be led by the tiny child on another walk. For some reason, Ethan kept stopping to scratch his back on the trees, much like a bear does. Emma followed along and started scratching on the trees too. Then, Papaw even scratched his back on the tree! It looked like Emma and Ethan were trying to teach Papaw the ways of the wilderness, The Three Bears. I wonder where they learned that!

After their walk, Ethan wanted Papaw to sit in the swing and let him run back and forth into his arms and back to Momma. Then, he gave his papaw a walnut from the ground, a reward for his good behavior. "Did you get a gift?" yelled Gramma from the picnic table.

Papaw smiled, nodded his head, held up two fingers and said, "Two."

Mimi's Story: "A Weekend with the Garland Twins"

This post is written by MaryGail Nelson:

A Week-end at Mimi’s and Pappy’s House

The twins have come to stay at Mimi’s and Pappy's for the weekend. They are two years old and we are always excited to see them. Their first order of business upon arrival is to take care of the spice cabinet. Ethan and Emma do not feel that I have that cabinet organized correctly. The reason I know this is because they roll that cabinet open first thing each time they visit and "shake, shake, shake" each spice and then proceed to put each container in another spot, usually not in the spice cabinet. I have found spices in the drawers with the pots and pans, in the living room, on the counter tops, in the toy box, etc. On this particular visit Ethan grabbed the pepper shaker when my back was turned and took it to the living room table and proceeded to "shake, shake, shake" it everywhere. I didn't discover the problem until Emma came up to me with pepper in her mouth. She had her hands in her mouth and was trying her best to get the pepper out. She wasn't crying but she was very uncomfortable. I gave her milk in her sippy cup and then a drink from Pappy's iced tea but that wasn't working. What really worked after I wiped as much as I could off of her face and tongue was a piece of ice. That worked. She loved it. Note: Never turn your back on a two year old!

Generally we explore the toy areas in the house. One area is in their bedroom and the other is in Mimi’s and Pappy's bedroom in cabinets under a window seat. That one was just recently discovered. It is the cabinet where some of Kacie's and Karli's toys are. Wow, Kacie and Karli have great stuff. Binoculars (pronounced neck- u-lars by Ethan), a camera (Emma always says "say cheese" when she plays with a camera) and balls, and books, and ELMO! and a big blue bat, and birthday hats! The "birt-day hats" were identified by Ethan and he gave each of us one. Pappy and I both put ours on and wore them even though they are not really birthday hats. They are safety cones that belonged to Lee Ann when she was a safety patrol in grade school. Yes we grandparents revert to a couple of silly-willies quite often when the twins come to visit. I think we have more fun than they do.
I asked the twins if they wanted to go outside. "Okay" . The twins don't answer with a yes or no. Well, yes they do if the answer is no. They like to say no. But if the answer is yes they say "okay". Going outside at Mimi's and Pappy's is lots of fun. There are chickens (bwauk) and cows (moo) and cats (meow) and a dog (woof, woof). When identifying animals one is required to make the sound that the animal makes. It's an Ethan and Emma rule. Anyway, before we went outside Ethan got a net sock from the kitchen. It was netting that tomatoes came in at the grocery store. I put it on his head like a stocking cap but he insisted on pulling it over his face like a bandit. He wore it while we played outside. He was very comfortable in it as it was a perfect fit. He had no qualms about meeting the neighbors and saying hello with his mask on. All activities outside on that occasion were played with his mask on. I wish I had taken a picture of it. He was so cute.

One of the places we like to play is in the cypress trees north of the house. We have a game we play in the trees. They run through them and hide behind them and I say "Ethan, Emma where are you?" and they appear through the trees with big grins on their faces and they squeal with delight. "There you are!" I say. Emma is especially fond of hiding. She moves into a bushy tree with her back to me and says "Where's Emma"? And then she happily squeals again as she turns around to see me. All the while she is quite visible to me. As far as Emma is concerned if she is in the bushes and she can't see me, she's well hidden.

Another place to play is what we refer to as the 'tee box' in the back yard. There are steep little hills on each side of the tee box that Ethan and Emma love to run up and down . They laugh and run and don't seem to mind if they lose their balance and fall. They just hop right up and do it again. Ethan discovered some droppings that Hank the dog had left at the bottom of one of the hills. He carefully inspected it and pointed to it and said "Poo-poo....Poo-poo nasty" . He says this quite often at his own house too when he spies Daisy's poo-poo. Very observant and smart young man. He steers clear of poo-poo.

When we get back into the house the twins get into high chairs for a quick bite. They like to have their chairs facing the TV so they can watch Sesame Street as they eat. Ethan allowed me to remove his bandit mask in order to eat thank goodness. I hid it after that so he wouldn't want to wear it the entire weekend. After cleaning their faces and hands and getting them down they began 'free play' again. Ethan likes to go in circles. He goes through Mimi's and Pappy's bedroom, through the closet, through the laundry room and kitchen over and over. He has his little football in his hands. Emma begins to follow him but somehow takes a shortcut into Pappy's bathroom unbeknownst to Mimi for a minute or two. When I go looking for her I find her in the bathroom with her back to me with some Kleenex in her hand. "What are you doing?" I say when I see her. She jerks around and has a quick little "oh-oh she's caught me" kind of look and drops the Kleenex and runs to me. Of course she gets a big kiss from me. Didn't see until later that she was pulling all of the Kleenex out of the box and stashing it behind the cabinet. Those little looks are so special to me and I left the Kleenex where it was for a few days so it would remind me of her sweet sheepish little mischievous face. How fascinating a Kleenex box is to a little two year old. It continually keeps popping up another Kleenex for you to pull out. The feel of it and the sound of it are just too much for Emma to ignore! What a precious child.

Now it's time to go to sleep. Since they haven't really had a nap it wasn't difficult getting them down. We brushed teeth and watched "The Princess and the Frog" Disney movie. Emma fell asleep on me as we watched. Ethan was concerned with the villain in the show. "That's scary" he said. He did like the music in the show and paid particular attention to it. I picked up Emma and put her in the crib in their bedroom. Ethan followed but turned around and went back into the living room with his Pappy not sure yet that he wanted to go to bed. Then he came back into the room and I lifted him into the crib as well. They may have whimpered just a bit but Emma crawled up toward Ethan and wrapped her arm around him and they went to sleep. They are precious little angels and slept all through the night.


Ethan and Emma, your Pappy and Mimi love you dearly. It is such a joy to take care of you. You will both grow into gentle souls just as your parents have. I hope that you both have a chance to be grandparents because then you will realize what a special thing it is.