so much fun and practically free

I don't think I ever could have predicted how much fun could be had from a $2.68 set of 3 plastic funnels from the hardware store.


The boys like to make bubble volcanoes.




They also like to put the "hats" on me, themselves, and each other and say "happy birthday!"


We've been going to Lake Hi*awatha Park quite a bit since the weather improved. It's just a 15 minute walk from our house. It has a great playground with sections for all ages, a park building with classes and programs, a kiddie pool, and a beach. Two summers ago, I walked wistfully by with my babies, often running the stroller over the grass so the movement would keep my boys asleep. Last summer I anxiously followed my newly mobile boys around on the playground, and now we are all over the park. Someday, we'll probably even use the ball fields for t-ball. I'm sure we'll be at the kiddie pool a lot this summer. The beach has been a big hit lately.












On the way home, we checked out the ants on the sidewalk. No*ah is rather afraid of insects (Me*agan said he climbed into her arms like a monkey and said "let me hold you!" when he saw a bug in the sidewalk the other day), but he was pretty interested from the safety of the stroller. Speaking of strollers, we've been taking the train to church on Sundays. It's about a 35 minutes stroller ride each way, but the boys have done very well so far. They are at a very friendly stage, waving at everyone, and singing the "cleanup song" for people who are raking or picking up leaves. I pack a lunch for the way home and they eat their sanwiches in the stroller so they can go right down for their nap when we get home. It's a little messy, but it works. They also like to look at books while riding along, sometimes trading wordlessly when they've tired of the ones they're holding.


Snacktime on the front steps. The boys like to watch the neighbors.


A moment of affection between brothers.


Aw, shucks, bruddah.

Jo*el and Meag*an took care of the boys for a bit from this past Friday afternoon until Saturday evening. I went to a hermitage an hour a way overnight, mostly to spend a little time in solitude. There are 24 one-room cabin hermitages at Pacem in Ter*ris, all there for silent retreats of up to 8 days. Their mission says "we seek to provide a simple and restful environment where the faithful can repsond to God's call to "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:11) After 24 hours of prayer, reading, writing, and sleep, I was greatly refreshed and glad to see my family again, though next time, I'd love to stay for two nights. I get a lot out of alone time, and don't get much of it these days. My life is full, busy, rich, fun, and noisy. What a blessing this time was for me!

When I got to the hermitage, I had a meal with the staff at the main house. Of the 12 other guests at the table, 2 others were also mothers of twins! We joked that we didn't need to explain our need for a little quiet and rest. One had 15 month old twins and two other children - I can't imagine what that must be like. At the hermitage, I was able to sleep from about 10:30 until 9 the next morning. I hiked for over an hour in the rain, then came back into my little cabin for some tea just in time to watch the hail come down. I know that sounds awful, but truly, it was perfect.

This is what my cabin looked like:



In addition to what you see here, there is just a simple twin bed (wih no twins in it!) and on the side of the cabin there is a screen porch with an Adirondack chair. When "hermits" leave, they prepare the cabin for the next hermit to benefit from. What a nice idea - that's not something we humans are terribly good at, I think to myself on this Earth Day.

I could've spent the whole time at Pacem just watching the deer and the birds out the big picture window.

Easter

This was No*ah's reaction when we told him his cousin Zo*e had been born. He went and got two of his "babies" and carried them around for a long while. I think that to him, babies are supposed to come in pairs. A couple of times when reading a book about a boy, he's asked "where the brother is".


This is Oliv*er noticing with delight that he gets to eat "brokkwi" for lunch. He so loves it that sometimes he'll pick the cheese off of it before cramming it into his mouth.


No, No*ah isn't terribly ill, he just also enjoys the "green trees".


If you look closely, there is a rather dramatic difference in eating style between our boys.


No*ah does need to put his knee back down where it belongs, but at least most of his breakfast actually made it into his mouth and not onto his lap. He's always been a fastidious eater, also packing away roughly 20 or so percent more food than his brother and still ending up about 4 pounds lighter. I think he just burns more energy.


On Easter, about an hour before we left for Jo*el's parents' house for dinner, No*ah saw the strip of sunlight on the kitchen floor and said "makes a road!" It was, in his eyes, perfect for his little cars.


That attracted Oli*ver, but the road disappeared when he crouched over it with one of his cars.


Both boys found this very confusing...


At Jo*el's suggestion, they both scooted over to the other side and proceeded to drive their cars up and down.


When they got bored of that, they sat in the booster seats that were waiting to be put in the car and demanded supper. All day long they invent games together like this. How do people ever keep singletons with no siblings yet entertained?


Maybe they eventually have to come over and play with their cousins!

This past weekend, Jo*el had some extra time off, so we packed it in as a family. On Saturday, the boys got haircuts (no tears, but only Oli*ver wanted a lollipop), then we went and got our weekly stash of board books from the library, and then we went to Vina in St. Pa*ul to eat. The boys were very good and we all enjoyed it. Going out to eat together isn't something we've done a ton of until recently. It's not always easy, or at least terribly enjoyable, to have a 1:1 ratio in that type of situation, but it is getting so much easier, so it was a nice feeling to just go out to eat like that. We also can't expect them to learn to behave in a restaurant if they never eat in one.

On Easter morning, I took the boys with me to Fa*ith Church, and Jo*el played at Bryn Maw*r Church. Every year, it never fails to amaze me that even as we get all spiffed up for Easter and show up in our finest clothes and freshly scrubbed faces to hear the Good News, the story we hear on Easter is of Christ first revealing his resurrection to a lowly woman, revealing to us most clearly that all are welcome at His table.

We had a very relaxing and delicious meal at Kath*y and Ste*ve's together with Mar*k and Meag*an that evening. We hope you all had as enjoyable and meaningful an Easter together as we did.

No*ah and Oliv*er have a cousin!

( Update from Friday evening: they're home! Scroll down to the bottom to see more pictures.)





Introducing Zo*e Em*ily A*nn Pa*trick

Born April 4, 2006

7 lbs. 5 oz.
20 inches
11:02 PM

Jen*nifer and D*ave are doing well after a fairly long (16.5 hour with no drugs) labor. Zo*e is also doing well, but swallowed a bit of meconium and got a bit of fluid in her lungs, so she is in the adjoining Newborn Intensive Care Unit for the time being.

We hope she will be discharged Saturday morning, but could possibly be there a few more days as a precaution. Right now, she is getting some antibiotics by IV to make sure that she doesn’t get an infection, but she looks rosy and robust, and rather large to be in an isollete. She has beautiful long fingers and toes, and had many family visitors today. She was born the evening before Maundy Thursday, just like her cousins, No*ah and Oli*ver 2 years ago.








Welcome to the world, Zo*e!

Update: Zo*e and mom are doing just fine and were both discharged from the hospital today. The P*atricks ( all 3 of them!) came home at 7 this evening to 2 hungry cats and some beautiful flowers.

mohawks are more fun when you can see them in the mirror

Biiiiiig boys...

On the morning of the boys' actual birthday (March 23, a week ago today), we went to our first Early Childhood class for 2 year olds (aren't we prompt?), and the boys had a good time there with all the "big kids". During circle time, we sang Happy Birthday. Their favorite aide, Miss Deb was there, which was a nice surprise, and N cried a little when the parents went to the next room, but did pretty well. It was a bit of a shock to see what 2 year olds can do - use scissors, for example, and wash their hands unnassisted. Oh, and use backtalk. Despite being a little nervous about what the "Terrible/Terrific Two's" may hold, I do really like the teachers for this class, and I think we'll have a great semester there. In our other (Wednesday) ECFE class, there is another woman with twin boys that are 20 months old. The really weird thing is, she was one of my doctors when I was in the hospital on bed rest. I found out then that she was expecting twins, but I never imagined we'd be in the same kiddie class together. She was very nice, but it was a very strange feeling.


Omie did make it out here from NY last weekend, this time on the boys' actual 2nd birthday. The three of them were very excited and happy to be reunited (and I think she was happy to see her daughter and son-in-law as well).


That evening, we went to one of our favorite places, the Mid*town Glo*bal Market for dinner to celebrate. The boys ate a huge meal of fajitas, guacamole, and rice. This indoor Market has a play area, and lots of place to walk around, plus many sources of inexpensive and delicious ethnic food. It is the perfect alternative to mallwalking for mall-allergic types like me, plus I can pick up a few groceries and sometimes dinner, sometimes all while listening to live music and letting my boys blow off a little steam. This time, there was a magic show, and a lady came out and gave the boys each a balloon. She didn't even know it was their birthday, she just thought they were cute!

Omie was only here for a short visit, but we did manage to go on a lovely nature walk at Wood Lake preserve (and see the snakes and turtles in the interpretive center), as well as go swimming at the YWCA. My mom also watched the boys while I went to church, which was a treat. We were very sorry to see Omie go, and the boys are still asking about her daily.

On Monday, I took N to his 2 year well-child visit. It was a beautiful day, and on the way there in the car, N yelled "Mama! Where are my pants?" He was wearing shorts for the first time this year. All is well with N, I'll save the stats for after O goes on Monday. N had to have blood drawn for a lead test (standard for U.S. kids who live in pre-1980 housing), and he didn't cry a bit. He did surpise the phlebotomist by saying, "It's red! Red comes out!" He was completely fascinated. The boys know their colors and most of the alphabet pretty reliably now, but N did refer to the letter "u"as an "upside-down, naughty N" the other day.

Me*agan and I also went swimming with the boys this week, and I really practiced the rules with them, because I'd like to be able to take them on my own, but I can't do that if they run out of the pool or refuse to come out when we're done. They were great, and I think we're
ready, but I'll let you know how it goes. Logistics are getting easier and easier. O loves to remind me that he's a biiiiiiiiig boy.

On Wednesday the boys and I took a walk around the block, and the boys held hands the whole time. We got to a house that has lots of wind chimes hanging off of it's porch, and N yelled, "My bells! Wind!" We waited and waited and finally the wind blew hard enough to make the bells chime and O started yelling "Ding dang dong! Ding dang dong!"

This morning we didn't have ECFE because our class is on Spring break, so we all went to the Bell Museum of Natural History instead. Here are a few pictures of the boys this afternoon, horsing around with daddy and each other.










Oli*ver tries to hug his brother a lot, and is often rebuffed. You can see here that he is very pleased to receive his brother's affection. It is often N who wants to hold hands, though. And lest you think it's all just a big love fest around here, they got their cars taken away for fighting about 20 minutes after this photo was taken.


I really have no explanation for this last picture, except to say that those are swim trunks on his head. I have a feeling Aunt Mea*gan is responsible. Fortunately, she was also responsible for taking the monitor to bed with her last night and getting up with the boys so J and I could sleep in a little today. Thank heaven for aunties (and family in general).

Still no Pat*rick baby. Jen*ifer is doing an admirable job of being patient, and has actually promised to meet us for a playdate in the morning - at a coffeeshop where she can put her feet up. If she doesn't have, you know, something better to do, like give birth. I'll post a picture after the baby is born.

Love to all,

Min*ke and the rest of the family.

Saturday morning update: Jen made it this morning, and we all went to a very busy coffee shop to play. The boys gave the baby a kiss, and a few over-enthusiastic pats. I hope they're gentler with the baby after she's born, though so far they've been very sweet with all the babies they've met.

now we are two!

Well, a certain little boy is all better. The morning after he got the shots and such, he woke up completely back to his old self, to our great relief. We were dissapointed when we found out that Omie couldn't make it due to the awful weather out East last weekend, but we still had a family party on Saturday. We wanted to celebrate early because Kath*y is out of town this weekend at Quilt Retreat and Jennif*er is due to have a baby just about any time now.


The day before, Meag*an baked a beautiful apple pie for the boys. We wanted to do an apple pie in addition to cake because both boys, especially Oli*er, are kind of obsessed with the apple pie in a couple of their books, and since they don't really know what cake is, it seemed more fun to make the pie.


Last Saturday (the day of the party) the boys woke up to their very own balloons.


When we got to grandpa and grandma's, we started off the gift giving by giving Jenni*ifer her very own glass chicken. I found this one at Saver's Thriftstore, and it is almost exactly like the one Kath*y has. When Jo*el and I started dating, I was told that anyone who dared take a piece of candy from the chicken when the kids were growing up would immediately get busted in the act, even if Mom was several rooms away. She would say "get out of the chicken!" and the kids would wonder how she knew. We'll have to see if this ability is genetic. Jen*nifer is due next week, and seems to be doing great. The boys talk about their baby cousin all the time, but No*ah said the other day that Jenn*ifer could keep it for him. He's a generous sort.

Of course, the boys also received some lovely and generous gifts.







I'd be curious to know if anyone else sees the family resemblance in the picture above. That's Em*ily, who is also expecting a baby. Emil*y is due in August. So far, babies are coming in pairs around here! It will quite a Thanksgiving in the Fall with babies and toddlers all over the place. Em*ily and her husband Sco*tt live close to Jennif*er and her husband Dav*id in St. P*aul


Grandma and Grandpa gave the boys a train table for their birthday. They temporarily set it up in the guest room, and the boys were very happily surprised to find it there! We plan to keep it in the garage for now, and I think the boys will enjoy it for years to come. Maybe a little cousin will inherit it someday.



Ol*iver was very, very excited when he saw the apple pie come his direction. He was just thrilled, and I think the taste met his expectations as well. He shouted "apple pieeeeeee!"



No*ah thought it was all just great, but couldn't quite match his brother's enthusiasm. Shortly after dessert he said "No*ah go home, go night night!". And we did, but we had a sitter ready and we snuck back over to watch Meag*an and Mar*k's recent travel pictures.

This week was spent catching up on things, and now my mom is finally here after having to reschedule her trip from last week. I told her that if she had come last week, she'd already have been missing her grandkids for several days. We spent the morning walking at a Nature Preserve, went to Choo Choo Bo*b's this afternoon to play with the train tables there, and then got a sitter for the boys after they went to bed and went out for a nice meal together. And now I'm off to bed!

(P.S. to Ma*x De Bus*sy: So heel luek om jou berigt (comment) te kreigen! Ik heb jou e-mail niet, maar dank je ruezen veel voor het schijven, and ik hoop erg dat wij elkaar mischien over een jaar of minder zien! Wei hoopen dat wei alemaal die kant op kunnen komen als de jongens boven drie zijn en we wat makkeleker in en hotel kunned sitten en zo. Volgens mij is dit de langste brief dat ik oit in Nederlands heb gescheven. Ik hoop dat jij mij kan begrijpen met all de fouten!)