Map Boy

Adam loves maps. Actually that's an understatement. He really loves maps. On our recent vacation, he had an opportunity to lead us out of the woods. He was up to the challenge, but probably needed a smaller map.

At the Beach

This is the start of the second week of the Missus and the twins in Puerto Rico. They are enjoying the trip to see Abuelita, but I miss 'em something fierce and can't wait to see them again.

This week they are spending some time at the beach and loving it. Tessa on the ocean: "It's the biggest pool ever!"

Baseball Stars

We took the twins up to see the Frederick Keys on a night when they were having a "Family Fun Fest". There was a moonbounce and booths where they could throw baseballs and basketballs. The twins ate it up. They loved all the games so much they didn't want to go in and see the baseball game. I had to tempt them with thoughts of ice cream cones and buckets of popcorn.

Before we went in, we got their pictures taken. One booth had a Sports Illustrated theme, the other made little baseball cards.

Vacation - Luray Caverns

We recently took a vacation road trip to points south. Our ultimate destination was Waxhaw, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, to visit Aunt Kelly, Uncle Ray and Emma and Aidan, but we made several stops on our way, and on our way back. Our road trip lasted a week and a half.

We all enjoyed ourselves. Unlike our last trip, the twins are much more self-sufficient (and we didn't have to carry them around everywhere) which was a lot less stress on the Missus and me. The twins enjoyed themselves too. Tess always loves to go out, but even Adam, our homebody, was asking, "Where are we going today, Dad?"

One of our first stops was at the amazing Luray Caverns. Though fairly close, I'd never been there before. We all were fascinated by the beautiful sights. Here are some pictures.

Knock Knock

Conversation during a recent long car ride:

"Daddy, how about some knock-knock jokes? Adam will start, okay?" asks Tessa.

"Knock knock, Daddy."

"Who's there, Adam?"

"Bridge."

"Bridge who?

"Bridge in your underpants!"

Maniacal laughter ensues from both twins.

"Knock knock, Daddy."

"Who's there, Tessa?"

"Bee."

"Bee who?"

"Bee stings in your underpants!"

Again with the maniacal laughter, and now it's Adam's turn again.

"Knock knock, Daddy."

Daddy says, "This one better not involve my underwear!"

Says Tessa, "Yeah, it's getting crowded in there. You better clean them out!"

Maniacal laughter ensues.

Four Year Checkup

The twins recently celebrated their fourth birthdays, so it was time for a checkup at the pediatrician's office. Unfortunately, they needed to get a bunch of booster shots: four each to be exact. Fortunately, I needed to work that day, so the poor Missus had all of the drama all to herself.

Of course karma couldn't leave well enough alone, and the twins needed to go back to the doctor's office to get some blood drawn. The appointment was scheduled for a day that I'd already planned--and announced--that I was taking off.

The Missus took Adam and I took Tessa. We'd asked for separate rooms, hoping to spare one of them the sight of the other getting stuck. They gave us adjoining rooms, so it was even worse, since Tessa could hear Adam screaming. "Can you check to see if Adam's okay?" Tessa asked.

Then it was her turn. Tess is the bravest little girl and took the needle without crying. There was a problem: she was a little dehydrated and the nurse couldn't get any blood. So they gave her some water and tried again. The second time, Tessa cried. A lot. So did Daddy.

A couple of hours later, the kids had forgotten all about it. But I didn't.

Soccer!

The twins started soccer yesterday. Even though they are already in Spanish class and swimming class, this is some kind of milestone, isn't it? For the next ten to twelve years, I'll be standing on some kind of sideline watching my children. Which isn't too bad.

At any sporting event with little kids, there are some children who whine and cry and don't want to go out and play. At first, that was my kids. It was a little embarrassing. But they finally got going and did pretty well.

Tessa came running to us at one point, crying. She'd gotten hit in the face with the ball. I'm so proud of her though, because she got right back in there and scored a goal. Well, sort of. It was mostly a bunch of three- and four-year-olds running around like maniacs, so I'm not sure goals really counted.

The coaches were very patient and deserve all the credit in the world. They had infinite patience. Personally, I was upset that this one little kid hogged the ball the whole time. I wanted to go out there and give that little four-year-old hot dog a forearm shiver. Probably a good thing I'm not a coach!

Cannon Park

We took a weekend drive up to the place the kids call "the Cannon Park." It's also known as the Antietam National Battlefield. We've been there a couple of times. It's a nice drive (the kids might fall asleep) and there's a little diner that we like on the way. After lunch we can hike around the park without worrying that the twins will be run over by a car.

I took these pictures there.

Snow Day

We got a couple of inches of snow today. It was rapidly melting by this afternoon. The twins had some fun outside, then came inside for some hot chocolate and a nap. That's the life!

The Story Behind the Shot

The picture below of my two little angels sleeping was taken after a busy Saturday for them. The Missus was at work, so Mr. Mom (that would be me) was in charge.

First, we played a little "Chase," one of the twins' favorite games. The rules are simple: chase somebody, then when you catch them, chase somebody else. Then we got dressed and went to Spanish class. (They learned some Spanish, I got my car washed.)

Next a trip to Mackers (a.k.a. McDonald's). I read someplace that Australians call Mickey D's "Mackers," and I liked it. I have been unable to convince my family to follow suit, but I'm sticking with it.

After Mackers (and two large unsweetened ice teas for Dad) we headed home. The twins were out in two minutes (even Tess, who rarely sleeps in the car.) I drove around and around, finally parking in my driveway, where I could read a book in peace. (I always have a book in my car to read while I'm waiting for the ferry.)

I read until I could no longer ignore my bladder (too much tea.) I pulled the car into the garage and ran in to the bathroom. They were still sleeping when I came out and I snapped a picture.

I sat on the steps in the garage until Adam woke up. He didn't see me right away and started yelling: "Let me out of here!"

I did.

Peace and Quiet

Fancy Tessa

Tessa loves the Fancy Nancy book her aunt gave her for Christmas. The book is about a little girl who likes to rescue her family from their humdrum lives. Our little Fancy Tessa certainly does that. Her brother helps too!

Here are some pictures from a recent visit to a little restaurant out in the countryside. (Yes, my daughter is wearing her tiara.)

Surf's up, dude!

The twins were running around the house yelling, "Surf's up, dude!"

"Surf's up?" I asked. "Where did you learn that?" You may be surprised, Faithful Reader(s), but that's something that neither the Missus nor I say very often.

"Our TV said it," said Adam.

Oh.

Jinx

In my last post, I described Tess as an Iron Girl who never got sick. Well, that was just tempting Fate, wasn't it? That jinxed her up real good. She got sick today, and I'm feelin' mighty guilty.

The Missus is taking good care of her, and I'm sure she'll recover from this bug soon.

Above is a picture of a couple of weeks ago when we took the Metro down to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. The twins loved the dinosaurs, almost as much as the train ride.

A Month to Remember

This month has been really busy.

We had a flu-type bug that was passed around in the family, resulting in one hospitalization so far (after some IV liquids, the Missus recovered nicely). I caught it and stayed home from work a couple of days, but thanks to being in the middle of one of our periodic planning periods, I still managed to have over 40 hours that week. Adam was sick, but didn't suffer as badly as his parents. Tessa, aka Iron Girl, didn't get it at all. Her amazing resistance to illness continues (knock wood!)

We had a nice visit with some friends (hi, Chris!) and the twins continued their Spanish and swimming classes. The Christmas tree stayed up for a record-setting amount of time, but was finally put away, to general sadness all around. Winter in the form of a tiny little snow storm entertained the kids, who still can't understand why Daddy doesn't love snow as much as they do.

My angel Tessa was a literal angel in her preschool's Epiphany Program. There's a picture of her above, the sweet little ham.

Adventures in potty training continue with my other angel, Adam. He has finally mastered numero uno but has just been teasing us about numero dos. Some days he gets it, on others, it's a Code Brown. He's really close and we know he'll get it soon--maybe tomorrow! Then it really will be a month to remember.