And Then They Were Two

Second Birthday

Ten days after the last entry, NL earned a second candle on their birthday cupcake. We honored the occasion with a small indoor gathering, forgoing the back patio steam bath which marked their first birthday. In attendance were the uncle-aunt combo of Jeff and Liz, plus Denise P. and son Rohit P. (I'll save their last name for Spelling Bee finalists). The guests delighted the toddlers with wondrous gifts. One was a classic red-yellow plastic scoot-scoot car for toddlers to climb inside and scoot-scoot around the kitchen, over dogs' tails, and past another child bawling from being deprived of their own opportunity to scoot-scoot. The other toy was a white-yellow plastic (yellow plastic is the thing these days) chest-high portable basketball hoop and ball set. The object of the game, I've come to understand, is to maneuver the ball through the hoop. Points are only allotted if the ball travels into the hoop from the top. NL's preferred move to the basket is raising the ball high over their heads as they walks towards the hoop, perching the ball on the rim and slowly coaxing it over and down, if lucky, or out and down if not.

Visit to the Doctor

NL followed their birthday celebration with a continuation of the series of painful shots which have characterized just about every doctor visit. I did not attend, as my boss suggested I avoid seeing my kids in discomfort and instead revel/experience in my own discomfort at the office.

Their latest specs: Noelle exerted 30 pounds of force on the scale, while Lucas held off slightly and registered 28lbs, 12oz. They're free of any and all pesky viruses, skin lesions, and all four ear canals are still clear, clean, and covered by insurance.

Trials of Toothbrushing

In between doctor visits, NL undergo anguish and distress during Toothbrush Time, sponsored by Dad. (We try hard to avoid long uninterrupted strings of unblemished joy as it softens the character). This horror story plays nearly each night just after bath time. As each child exits the tub, is dried off, and tossed into the air for no particularly sound reason, they catch a glimpse of their toothbrush holder. Immediately they demand their "bhash", due either to poor short-term memory from the previous day's experience, or an untempered craving for the taste of the paste. I oblige and hand one child a yellow and the other a blue brush decorated with Snoopy. The kids jam the brushes into their puckers and suck off the paste as if this was Dessert, The Sequel. And off they go.... A few minutes later I separately snatch each pajama-wearing child, cradle the head in my armpit and, deflecting kicks and punches, screams and tears, deftly polish as many teeth as I can get to until I give up 20 seconds later with an "all done!" The dark clouds then dissipate: screams become giggles, tears disappear, and kicks and punches go from hateful to playful. We are best friends again, up through tomorrow's call for "bhash!"

Recounting the Off Season

We've not moved to Namibia or Neptune, or had the kids repossessed, and I've not had my typing fingers smashed by a meat tenderizer. Simply, we've been scurrying around the house after the blanket that Noelle won't sleep without and striving to feed the dogs at least six times a week. Lo and behold, it's now mid-June and the World Cup is occupying 87% of the parts of my brain not devoted to critical survival instincts. Blogging is one of those tasks stuck between blowing last fall's leaves out of the gutters and gingerly, but with determination, slicing off the tips of the dogs' nails.

Since that monumental day in February, Noelle and Lucas have spoken and swam a few times. I regret not keeping up with their expanding vocabularies, as we'll likely not remember in 2023 that this spring of 2010 Lucas went from "dump cuck" to "dump truck" and Noelle from "deuce" to "juice" to "more juice." (Still neither child can cough out a "please"). Both now walk with a certain level of confidence, and fall with a steady level of frequency. Lucas summons tears with little provocation, yet turns them off like a switch as soon as a binks (binx, for short) appears between his lips. He eats from a much bigger bowl of alphabet soup than Noelle, easily reciting his A's through V's and X's through Z's. Noelle puts out a determined effort but declares the majority of letters either A's or D's. (Since those are enough to spell "dad", why bother with the others?).

Next Friday, the kids board the bus headed for their Terrific Two's. They've given us their share of grief during the Oh Man One's; surely they can't pull more dog tails, draw on more walls and throw more tantrums and noodles than since last June?? I've practiced an angry fist shake, in case they dare get out of line.

In late August, NL pack their bags and head off to school. We've signed them up for twice weekly care taking sessions at the local Baptist church. (We've not discovered the Baptist faith; we simply discovered the baptist church is the closest to our present residence). It's high time they leave their mum's teat (the kids, not the Baptists) and go for dad's wallet instead. We'll expect results, in the form of precise recitals of Frost poems and accurate identification of a good number of Orlando's insects.

I should end with a proper concluding paragraph, but I'll leave it as a run-on sentence with little attention to form while I'm pleased to discover it takes a considerable amount of effort to write an improperly structured sentence considering the late hour and realizing I just traded five minutes of sleep for this. At least I was easy on the commas.

Speaking and Swimming

Noelle and Lucas have just pushed past 20 months. And boy are their arms tired.

Over the last few weeks Noelle has gradually been participating in the talking game. Lucas has been at it for some time, by now accumulating an impressive vocabulary of several dozen words. Noelle, however, was content with "dad", "bubble", and the occasional “muhm”. Of late, she’s ventured further into Enunciation Land, though still needs a guidebook. While Lucas has "snowman" down almost perfectly, to tiny baby Special it’s still a "noh-muh". When asked to identify an object, Lucas hits the mark nine times out of ten; things he doesn't know usually default to "puhtaytoh”.

We are considering signing up Babies A and B for swimming lessons. Last summer NL, and in particular Noelle, exhibited a surprising love of aquatics. It’s evident they miss the hydro-hijinks in the wintertime. They’ve been forced to transfer the sport indoors. Past bath times meant mostly sitting and splashing. Now, both lay on stomachs and kick their legs as if trying to swim out of the tub. They fail at that, but do succeed in splashing a good portion of the tub's water onto the floor, and occasionally land a toe on their partner's face.

Here’s an astute observation: NL are noticeably morphing from babies into kids (some would prefer to say “toddlers”; those people are free to start their own blog). Yes, I noticed some time ago that the kids no longer crawl, have a tooth here and there, and enjoy solid foods. I mean that witnessing their alertness to their world and responsiveness when addressed add up to the flashes of intelligence of maturing individuals. The kids are conscious of themselves, acknowledge their relationship in our family, and are developing preferences in their behaviors. Though from birth it was evident they took comfort in routines, now it’s neat to see them seek their favorite toys and activities. And parents (me; who else?).

For the record I note that my sister Sylvia has equaled our tally of kids by delivering to the world--and notching Canada another warm body--one Alyssa Elizabeth Silvestri. The darling child (I haven't met her yet, but since she's related to me she is doubtless a model specimen) will one day hold the other end of the string while cat's cradling with Noelle, and whisper to Lucas that her brother Ethan smells.

Welcome to the Year of the World Cup

Kelly's last two posts precluded a first entry-less month since the WT blog was born. Her tale of our Chicago trip was an impressively detailed account. Though, it missed in a retelling of the restless body syndrome Noelle exhibited on our flight back. I put up a valiant effort holding on to Tiny Baby Special for the two hour ordeal. She apparently mistook the jet for Gymboree, climbing, dancing, bouncing, and squirming during the seat belt instruction, before, during, and after the beverage service, and culminated the display of her energies while we taxied to the gate. Kel enjoyed a relaxing flight while Lucas snoozed in her arms.

A week ago we unofficially moved in with Marma in Oviedo. This house offers bundles of space. Of particular benefit is the spacious screened patio and wide grassed yard, where we encounter the dogs' surprises only occasionally (at the duplex, not encountering any droppings was the surprise). Here all can retreat to their private quarters following a fight, while in the duplex we were crammed into one room and had to talk things out. On the down side, as this house is one story, the kids' room's proximity to the living room requires a call to action when they nap: hushed footsteps, whispered chatting, escorting Kel's grandma to her own nap (as she had habitually taken to doing dishes the minute they go to sleep, clanging and dinging with abandon), and sequestering the pets in a carpeted room, as their claws on the hardwood floor are like rapid fire rifle shots.

We plan to stay here until our duplex is sold or rented. I recently had to turn down a job offer in Suffolk, Virginia, fearing that a move now, while continuing to pay a mortgage, would be financially risky. (Hopefully this saving period will enable us to shift some cash towards Noelle or Lucas's tuition at the University of Virginia). We plan to survive the heat with a steady prescription of water parks and iced tea.

Yes, this is a World Cup year. Expect few entries for a month starting on June 11th. Lucas won't be writing either.

The twins visit Chicago...

... and returned home just in time for a rather balmy Orlando Christmas.

Karl and I agreed that the trip, their first one to this area of the country, was a success. We stayed with my dad in Grayslake from mid-day Wednesday, 12/16, and arrived at home late night Monday, 12/21, making frequent visits to the western suburbs where Babcia and Dziadek call Carol Stream home. The twins also got to spend QT with their godparents Aunt Sylvia & Uncle Glen. Their 2.5 year old cousin Ethan was very patient with NL, who scattered his toys about and annoyingly interfered with the puzzle-solving process of a 20 piece Sesame Street puzzle we'd brought for him. On a positive note, this bodes well for his upcoming role as big brother to a new baby due March 3.

The reason behind this particular trip was my best friend Joanna's bridal shower, held at a fellow bridesmaid's home in the south suburbs. Joanna and I have been good friends since those early years 'in the trenches', as my dad likes to call them, at Hewitt. We have shared an unbelieveable amount of rich life experiences in those last 7.5 years- love, loss, heartbreak, moving, buying and selling homes, new jobs, marriage and kids (me), going on an awesome work assignment in London and totally succeeding and embracing it (her). I feel as if we've grown together and have always been there for each other, like sisters. So, to sum it up, I didn't even consider not being a part of her special day (her first special day, that is- the BIG day is not until May 2010). We both burst into tears when we saw each other (it had been over 3 years, keep in mind) but it's funny how, when you reconnect with a good friend, everything seems just the same as it was before. Easy conversation, things in common, laughter, memories. She even looked just the same as she had when I last saw her! (Hopefully, she was thinking the same about me ;)
Well, the shower went wonderfully and the time flew so quickly that I didn't realize I should have called Karl so he and the kids would come to get me a little later than planned. So they made a brief appearance at the party, and after all the 'ooohs' and 'aaaahs', I hustled the trio into a guest bedroom, promising food, beer (for Karl), and a quick departure (as soon as she finishes opening her gifts! ;)

I kept my promises, and soon we were off to another Chicago party- this time, a surprise birthday/graduation party for our friend Garron. Unfortunately, we arrived shortly after the 'surprise!!', but poor, shocked Garron was still crying so we did get to join in that moment. This was a rather fancy party- the large house in an upscale Chicago neighborhood was sparkling with Christmas decorations; there was yummy catered food, and bartenders and a wait staff surrounding us. I felt a bit embarrased bringing 1 year old twins into a party of this caliber but thankfully, Garron, Sean, and their family and friends, are some of the sweetest, most down to earth people we know. Garron's sister brought them some toys to keep occupied with, and the staff made sure they were well-fed. Garron was very glad that we'd brought them along since it was her first time meeting them.

We had to leave before too long (missing the magician, unfortunately), since it was way beyond the twins' bedtime and they'd had a busy day.