The little things

There are lots of little things that happen throughout the day that never seem to fit in a regular post. They don’t “go together” or fit a theme. They’re just little moments I’d like to remember forever. So today I’m going to try to remember as many of them as I can and record them in no particular order.

• I love listening to the two of them play together. They laugh so much! And the conversations they have are hilarious. There was one morning when we were visiting my mother that the kids woke up, but stayed in their room. I was so grateful for the video monitor as I watched Kyla “teaching” Lucas how to “do ballet.” Then, of course, Lucas had to show Kyla “‘nastics” (gymnastics). Too cute! I really hope we can get them each into a class in the Spring. I know they’ll love it.
• They give the sweetest kisses and hugs. Just one will brighten my day considerably. Too bad they can be stingy with them at times.
• They are really starting to use their imaginations. Friday they pretended to be the Monkey King (character from Ni Hao, Kai Lan), witches, and Mommy. They also love to pretend to eat things. It’s fun to watch this side of their play emerge.
• Lucas took me by surprise the other day when he started pointing to words in a book and running is finger across them to ask “What that say?” Clearly he’s made the connection that the letters on the page make words that I can read and he wants to as well. They are both starting to “read” books that they’ve heard over and over. And of course, they’ve always been avid book lovers. But I didn’t really expect that connection to appear just yet. I’m thrilled, of course, but will not push, just guide him as best I can.
• Kyla has become VERY girly. She loves pink and purple. She wants to wear dresses (unfortunately, we only have a few that are cold weather appropriate) all the time. And she’s enjoying playing dress up. Looks like it may be time to hit some thrift stores for “costumes” and for me to get to sewing some long sleeve dresses! Being that I’m not girly at all, it isn’t my first thought to buy dresses. I’m a jeans kind of girl.
• The other morning Lucas wanted to have “noodles and chopsticks” for breakfast. Then he saw that Kyla was having cereal and he wanted that too. And he wanted grapes. So I gave him a plate of noodles (we had some plain spaghetti noodles leftover from another meal in the fridge), cereal, and grapes. Of course, since Lucas had chop sticks, Kyla wanted them too. To eat her grapes. Which she fed to Lucas with the chopsticks. Then Lucas started using his chopsticks to feed Kyla his noodles. Cute. But messy.
• I really try to give my kids every opportunity I can to feel independent. Even though it can occasionally be hard to give up control. One thing I’ve been trying to do recently is give them cups without lids. They love it, of course. I only put about an inch of liquid in the cup so that if/when they spill it’s not as big a mess. Mostly they are careful. But they also like to stick their hands in the cup. Or, as Kyla did the other day, get a mouthful of milk and let it dribble down their chin. I have no idea why this is fun. It makes no sense to me. And drives me a little insane. But they sure think it’s hilarious.
• I find it interesting to watch my kids in public play areas. Saturday we went to McDonald’s with two other moms with twins (so 6 kids altogether). Their twins mostly played separately, only occasionally joining up to play in the same area. However, my two stuck to one another most of the time, occasionally going their separate ways. I hope that means they will continue to be close. But I’m not sure. I have a friend that is the girl half of boy/girl twins and she says she hated being a twin and having her brother “always there.” She and her brother don’t even speak to each other as adults. I don’t want that. I want my kids to love having one another around. Though I know Kyla frequently gets her fill and would like a break from Lucas (Lucas does not feel the same, though). While we don’t do it nearly often enough, we do try to give them individual time with us. So they know they have worth individually and not just as a pair.
• Going on walks with these two takes FOREVER. They love to stop for everything. Acorns (or “aporns,” as they call them), leaves, dogs, kids, you name it. They are taking in the whole world. It’s hard to remind myself that it’s okay if it takes a while to get anywhere. I notice that I get a lot more impatient with the stopping when we’re heading home than when we’re heading to the park (where every walk ultimately takes us, it seems). And of course, one will be way ahead of me and the other way behind me, leaving me to worry that one of them will take off into the street and I won’t be close enough to stop them!
• Friday Lucas was having a fit (he rarely wakes from nap in a good mood) and was crouching on the floor. I tried to tease him out of his mood by saying “You look like a frog. Can you say ‘ribbit’?” His response, through his tears, was “Tree frogs have sticky toes.” LOL It took a while for me to figure out what he was saying, but Kyla backed him up, repeating the phrase with him until I figured it out and adding that “Tree frogs go in wa-wa.” I asked them where they learned that and they said “I don’t know.” Then it hit me. Go Diego, Go. I guess at least they’re learning something!
• On Thursday I was cutting up an onion to use in the soup I was making for dinner. It was a particularly pungent onion and it made my eyes sting almost immediately after cutting it in half. I said “Ooh! This onion is making my eyeballs hurt!” To which Lucas replied “I go get them!” and he ran off towards my bathroom, coming back with my contact case! I guess that’s where he thinks I store my eyeballs, since I’ve often said I’m “putting in my eyeballs” when they watch me put in my contacts. LOL What a clever boy!
• These kids are so stinkin’ smart and I marvel at how much they absorb every day. I am so glad I get to be their teacher!

That’s all I’ve got time for at the moment. I know there is plenty more, but nap time will be ending soon and I have other things that need to be done as well. I will have to post more “little things” in the future.

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