We have violins!

The boys got their new violins today! They really enjoyed the violin shop- and I really enjoyed when it was time to get them out of there. There were huge basses, cellos, and violins everywhere... and there I was with two over-energetic four year olds. Yikes. They are very excited and can't wait for Ms. Becca to show them what to do! These violins are TINY!! Addison's arms are a little shorter than Asa's, so his is a 1/32. Asa's is a 1/16. Wow!!

I'm Melting!

This heat is amazing. You step outside and are hit by a curtain of heat... You can't really run and play in it! So, we're trapped indoors, for the most part... us and the kitties. As you can see, the heat is leaving us all exhausted...

We do windows

Wow. The boys had their halos on yesterday... of course, these are the special halos with built-in amplifiers. They may have been loud, but they vacuumed, washed my windows, cleaned their room, and helped me put away clothes! Addison vaccuumed the whole downstairs and up the stairs... and thanks to Grandmomma, Asa can fold clothes all by himself. Too bad when their thirteen I'll have to beg, plead, and threaten to get them to do this kind of stuff! It'll be great ot have some grass-mowers!

Broken glass

Wow. These boys are growing up fast. Sunday morning, Asa came into our room and woke us up with a very sheepish look on his face. He stumbled around his words for a bit and then let us know that he was trying to get a bowl down all by himself to get cereal, but he *actually* (favorite word) knocked a glass down and it broke. He was really shaken up, but I thanked him for telling me and went down to clean it up. Now, it turns out that he had already eaten... he had the bowl, had poured cereal and milk in, got the spoon, all by himself. I'm not sure what the train of events was that left the glass broken on the floor...

Addison just wanted to make sure that I knew that he wanted to wait for me to fix his cereal because he didn't want to do anything like knock a glass down off the counter. He is the family brown-noser for sure.

I am just amazed that they are old enough to be doing things that I remember doing. How many of us have knocked a glass off the counter while our parents were asleep on a Sunday morning? I was just thankful that Asa isn't yet like I was... Asa came upstairs and got me. Back in the day, I just scraped up all the evidence and crammed it into the trash compactor.  The combination of glass and compactor managed to actually break a piece off of the compactor.  So, I took my brother with me to share the blame, walked to the end of the driveway, and chunked the compactor piece across the street- into McLucas' cornfield. That cornfield was a graveyard from broken evidence... the emblem off of my mom's old Crown Victoria and who knows what else. I guess my kids will have to come up with another solution. Across the street from us is a city park.

Those tomato-eating-bats are back with a taste for turtle...

Asa tells a story...

Hey, Mom! A long long time ago, not when I was this age but a long long time ago when I was three... I had a fream while I was asleep at our house. I dreamed that I had a turtle in the bathtub and a turtle in the potty! (He laughs uncontrollably and then sings...) Turtle in the bath-tub, turtle in the potty!! I had two turtles.

I spoke up to say that if I were a turtle, I wouldn't want to swim in the potty.

Yeah. But these were dead. Yeah. They were dead so we just scooped them up and throwed them in the yard and then daddy throwed them in the woods. Then, bats ate them... but not the shells. Bats don't eat shells.

Um.... Should I be concerned here? I am assuming it's normal for four-year-old boys to dream about bats eating dead turtles that were floating in our bathroom? Geez.

Tomato Harvesting

Wow. I have learned that 6 tomato plants can be a lot to manage. I think we would have done fine with just one! Asa and Addison went out in the gator to pick... and then discovered that Daddy was mowing trails in the jungle that we call a backyard.

Four-year-olds Can Do That.

It had been a while since I had taken the boys across the street to ride bikes on the track, so we went this evening. They wore their new helmets and pads that they got for their birthday (which Asa said looked "very cool") and were off. To their suprise, the boys could now PEDAL UP THE HILL! This is a huge deal since it means that I did not have to follow them around the track, giving pushes at the appropriate times. This was especially hard when they were spread out across the track. Needless to say, they were very proud of themselves!




Mattie followed us across the road to watch.



Here's Asa showing me how great his hemlet would work if he fell on his head. ("It would do like this!")

Deep Breaths

Asa came down from playing in his room...

"Um.. Mom... (he seems a little nervous)
There was kinda an old tomato in our house, but I threw it in the trashcan."

(Bear in mind that Asa has not gone out with me to pick veggies in the garden in quite a few days, and when he does he gets in trouble for trying to play with the cherry tomatoes all over the house)

"Asa, where did it come from? Was it in your room?"

"Um... I think that some rabbits or squirrels came and picked them from our garden and... um... they like to eat tomatoes... and it was all squishy so I threw it away."

"Asa, where was it?"

U"mm... You remember when that bat was in our house? Well, um... I bet that he had it and he left it in our house. And I threw it in the trashcan. We don't want an old tomato in our house!"

"You're right, Asa. We sure don't."



~~~


We decided to go pick up lunch at McDonald's and take it to the playpark for a picnic today. Addison was adamant that he did not want McDonald's, and Asa was dead set on it. Needless to say, the backseat was a fast-food battlefield. Addison did not want to eat McDonald's!

Well, Zaxby's is right next to McDonald's. Being the fabulous mother I am, I asked Addison if he wanted Zaxby's instead. Asa still refused to consider anything but Micky-D's, so we would make two stops.

Everyone was excited.

Peace on earth.

As I pulled up to the drive-thru window at Zaxby's I leaned back and asked Addison what he wanted to eat.

"Nothing. I'm not hungry." WHAT?? "I don't want anything to eat."

Sensing my frustration he pipes up, "I just wanted to come here cause you like it... you can get something. I picked it for you."

Sigh.

The Big Check Up

The boys just had their four year check up. A huge deal as far as shots go. They are right on track with their learning, hearing is great, sight is great, they speak well, all their body parts are attached relatively close to where they should be.

Jeff always thought my baby pictures made me look like an 'imp' (or possibly a Gelfling), and Asa looks just like I did, so Jeff deducts that Asa must also be an 'imp'. Addison on the other hand we think comes from some garden gnome section of the family. This theory was proven true today as Addison was in the 50th percentile in weight and the 10th in height! Asa is about 60th and 20th. I guess I'd better start the Flintstone vitamins flowin' since Addison has to grow an inch before we can go back to Disney World!

Addison was nervous about today's visit since he heard we were going, two days ago. He always asks me if he's getting a shot... and I cannot lie... "Yes, when we go you'll get a shot." I could feel his anxiety levels rising. I promised them a very very special treat for bravery, and it did the trick. They talked about that treat and focused on it. Addison let out a very loud scream during each of the shots (three in all) but didn't cry and handled it like a champ. I glanced over during Addison's shots and saw that Asa was SMILING. The unsympathetic little kid was finding humor in his brother's screams. When I was little, I would have been heartborken and protective when my brother was getting shots. When it was Asa's turn, he made me a little nervous. He said to me, "Watch this, momma... I'm not gonna cry at all. Watch!" and he grabbed onto my hands. He squeezed tight and scrunched up his face... and toughed it out for all three shots. He jumped up and collected his stickers. For some reason, that makes me very nervous!

(I didn't realize how much Asa and I looked alike until I found this picture...)

Underwater

We went swimming again yesterday, and I was able to bring my new waterproof case for my Fijifilm Finepix camera. I really needed a small point-and-click so I didn't have to take my huge SLR around with me. This one I can just drop in my pocket. I tested the new case and was very impressed!

The boys remembered most of their Infant Swim Resource classes this year. This is the third summer since they've taken them. They started a little before they turned 2 (and at that point their age was still being adjusted, so they were about 20 months, gestationally) The first summer they were like fish, showing off their newly learned tricks. They were textbook with their swim/roll/float technique. The Infant Swim courses teach survival swimming. At less than 2 years old I could see that if they were to fall in the water, they could float on their backs and breathe, and then roll to swim to the side, rolling to breathe and rest until they could safely make it out of the pool. I wish we'd known about it their first year. We would have started even earlier! When I was at classes with the boys we watched 6 and 7 month olds doing it!

Here's Addison from 2001 doing the full roll-to-float...




They even had to do this in full winter clothes, shoes, and a coat. Last year we took a refresher course for a little over a week and had it all down again. This summer, they can swim like little fish, but the rolling and floating is gone. I was hoping it would stick!

Here's some pics from yesterday...

Rock On

Moms of Multiples Club Meeting???

NO! Family reunion. Yes, there were THREE sets of twins at last weekend's Davis family reunion.

Twins are Rarely Bored.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

My cousin Marissa came and spent some time with us this week. The boys thoroughly enjoyed all the attention! I think it was like vacation for them... they played a bunch of Nintendo, went swimming, we went to the aquarium... having an extra set of hands was AMAZING!

Today, she helped the boys decorate a cake for Jeff. We blew up some balloons and the had a little mini-party for him. (What's a birthday without party hats??) It was a VERY silly night, and everyone had sore bellies by the end from laughing so hard at the boys' hat antics.

4th of July!

We had a great fourth! We actually hung out down at Mom & Roland's house and just relaxed for a change. We sat and watched the boys play on the water slide, ate ribs (yum!), and enjoyed the awsome weather.

Flashback...

Since nothing particularly hilarious has taken place in the past week or so (believe it or not), I will share a story from about a year ago. The boys were particularly wound up one night. With much effort, we were able to get them to go to bed. Gave kisses, turned on their sleep music, turned off the light, and went down the stairs. I don't remember what Jeff and I were doing. Probably watching something incredibly exciting on t.v.. We usually have the monitor on, but for some reason it was off that night. This was back in the day when there was so playing that went on after lights out. We heard some racket, but nothing out of the ordinary. Or so we thought. At some point, I ventured up to their room. As I started up the stairs I realized that the racket was a cry, and a distress call. I ran up the stairs and swung open the door. There was Asa, wedged between his headboard and the wall. They were in twin beds, which were incredibly heavy. His belly had stopped him from falling completely behind the bed... and he was stuck. I stood there for a while, how did he get like this? It wasn't a mystery for long. After freeing Asa (who wasn't hurt but scared that he was going to be "stuck there all night long", I learned the whole story. Both boys were taking turns standing at the top of their headboards and leaping onto the bed. Asa's foot must have slipped and he fell behind. This little adventure didn't deter them from jumping on the bed, but it did stop them from jumping off the HEADBOARDS!

The Evolution of the Knock Knock Joke

After breakfast this morning...

Addison: "Knock Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Addison: "Hungry"
Me: "Hungry Who?"
Addison: " Hungry Toilet Paper"

After getting no reaction he quickly follows up with...
Addison: "Knock Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Addison: "Orange"
Me: "Orange Who?"
Addison: "Excuse me I didn't say apple?"

Maybe the poo jokes weren't so bad after all.

I Love My Daddy Because...

"He gives us kisses"

"He plays pretendo with us" (nintendo, that is)



"He lets us play with concrete"

"He lets me help him make bricks"

"He takes us to Home Depot in his truck"

"He lets me get dirty at Home Depot"

First Violin Lesson!

The boys had their first Suzuki Violin lesson today... and it went very well! Becca taught them how to hold their bow hand and we learned a rhythm to clap. They even learned the names of all the parts of the violin. They are looking forward to being able to actually hold a violin-- maybe in a couple more lessons!

Children of the Corn

Our garden is looking great! We had enough green beans to feed an army on Sunday, and we have zucchini coming out of our ears. Maybe these boys should have a veggie stand to get rid of all the tomatoes we'll have once they ripen!


Asa usually takes off to the garden in the mornings. One morning last week, he ran out the back door and jumped in his John Deere Gator. I watched him from the kitchen window as he drove to the garden and went row by row, inspecting the growth. A while later, he drove back up and unloaded a cucumber and some beans from the back of the gator. Too cute.

Boys will be boys... and men will be boys...

Where did my little boys come from?

"Did you see that Transformers voice changing helmet? It was AWSOME." ~Jeff

Fishing Trip

Last Thursday, we spent the afternoon fishing down in Brooks. The boys each caught about three... and each caught one brem that was big enough to keep! We didn't quite getthrough to them that you don't walk in front of all the lines (Dad will attest to this... with a hook in the finger), but all in all there were no major injuries.

When all the worms were gone, Dad cleaned their fish for them, which I thought was a wonderful idea. It was such a good lesson... it is possible to catch/grow/prepare your own food. I was pretty amazed at how little they were affected by the cleaning. Asa said, "Look! The heads flop around when they get cut off!". That's a difference between a tom-boy and a boy-boy. I was all about worms, baited my own hook, took the fish off, etc. The line is drawn at the fish cleaning. No way would I sit and watch that... not without screaming about the injustice of it all and crying for the poor fishie (that I just hooked, caught, and threw in a bucket). I also found that another tomboy/boyboy line is found in insect hunting. I am all about catching bugs... or so I thought. I guess boys consider grubs to be in the bug category. Asa had to get a lesson about how sometimes, girls don't want to hold bugs... especially grubs.

Get Down Tonight

Mim and I took the boys to the Funkle Ester show at Ashford Manor's "Concerts on the Lawn" last night. This is Bryan and Meredith McLucas's disco cover band, that has actually dissolved but came back to do this reunion show. Now Bryan and Meredith have an originals band, the Green Hornets, and Meredith is in Countdown to Ecstasy, which is a Steely Dan tribute band. This Saturday, Jeff and I will go to see Meredith make a cameo in Cosmic Charlie's cover of the Dark Side of the Moon at the Georgia Theatre.

Anyways, the boys loved the show, although Addison was feeling a little under the weather. Here's some pics...

Looks like a mini conga line, but this is actually how you get to the car with both arms full of groceries...

I had both boys saying, "I boogie woogied 'till I couldn't boogie no more". Addison piped up and said in all sincerity, "Yeah, that's why I stopped boogieing."

The big news in Bethlehem....

(Click on the image)

(I've been writing on the House Blog about the tree, and our trying to get the bees out)

A few more... by Asa

"Mom, when I growed up, I'm gonna play in the street like Uncle Mike" ~Asa

~~~

"On my next birthday, I'm gonna be five" Asa says, proudly.
"Really?" replies Grandpa
"Yup, then one day I'm gonna be TEN!"
"One day, you'll be old like me." Grandpa adds.
"Yeah! Then I'll hold up my arm like this and see hairs on it!"

~~~

Asa and I were walking from the pool to the bathroom (for the sixth time in 2 hours). He looks at me and says, "You see my two nipples?? One day I'll have big nipples like Daddy!"