How do you like those new pictures? You like them, don't you...

Eeek! Christine wrote 'photographs made'. I know she grew up in the South and everything, but...

Hey, Scarlett O'Hara, in Iowa we say 'pictures taken'!

This no nap thing is really working for me; however, it's catching up to the twins. They both got up too early and were crabby almost all morning. They cried about everything, even when I was agreeing with them. So I announced that we would have naptime after lunch. Elizabeth threw a huge fit and finally cried herself to sleep. Wil said, "I like naptime this day."

While Elizabeth was throwing her fit, Wil and I were finishing our lunch. I asked him why he thought she was crying. He said, "I think Elizabeth is not happy on the inside. She can't be happy on the outside until she is happy on the inside." I was sort of surprised, so I asked him if he learned that somewhere or if he thought of it himself. He pointed to Sean's whiteboard in the breakfast nook. I asked, "Did you learn that from Jesus?" He said, "And from the crosses and Zacchaeus and the blind man who sat by the road and cried."

Wil brought some popcorn to Sean in his mouth fully expecting Sean to take it and eat it. Sean asked what they were playing. "You're Fagan and I'm bringing you a bone." Bone accepted. Wil proceeded to lick Sean's face twice.

All the boys wanted to be Space Rangers today at Mother's Day Out. Since there is almost no way to keep six little boys from shooting things, I told them okay but they had to work together and couldn't shoot each other since they were all Space Rangers. At this point Wil decided to be the enemy Zurg.

During snack time at Mother's Day Out, Wil bit off parts of animal crackers to make them into new animals. He ended up with a lot of sea horses and whales.

In the car this morning Elizabeth said, "When I am big like you and when I have my two children, I will put my girl one in my seat and my boy one in Wil's seat." Okay. "But where will I sit?" So I told her she might have a car to drive when she is a mommy. She thought that was a good idea and she added, "Daddy knows how to drive." Then she decided that if she and her children take a trip to Iowa, she will sit in the passengers seat. I'm not clear on who will do the driving.

The twins are 3-1/2 years old today. I took them to have their photographs made. Wil had a blast. The photographer kept saying, "He's so cute!" Elizabeth was surprisingly hesitant, like she didn't want to make a mistake. We didn't stay around for her pics to be developed, but Wil's turned out great. It was so hard to choose one, so I picked three!

Let's do it to it.

This has become the new family motto. I started saying it and Elizabeth picked it up and then Christine and Wil picked it up. Fun.

Well, Christine and the kids are off to Iowa. Christine wants a break, so she's going to take the kids to my folks' and go on a scrapbooking retreat. And my folks are glad to have them, so it works out well for everyone. I miss them, of course, but will relish the solitary time.

At preschool they are talking about Martin Luther King Jr and dreams. Elizabeth told her teacher privately that her dream was to be a ballerina. I thought the privately part was important because if you get a bunch of little girls going around the room saying what they want to be when they grow up they'll all say the same thing.

Two sweet moments from the day:

Wil cleaned up his own mess after lunch. I got out the whisk broom and pan for him, and he swept up all the noodles, ham and cheerios he had dropped on the floor. He put it all in the trash and then put the broom and pan away. I wish there was a way to capture the look of pride on his face when he was done.

Elizabeth said to me, "I need you to be with me by myself for a little while but Wil is in here." I told her we could sit in the recliner together and pretend Wil was somewhere else. She agreed and we all watched 'The Little Mermaid.' Wil eventually sat with us and she was okay with that.

The twins had an appointment today with our dentist. Both of them did great. They enjoyed having their teeth cleaned, going up and down in the chair, and using 'Mr Thirsty.' I think the best part for them was being told repeatedly how great they must be at brushing their teeth and such things. They beamed and readily agreed that they were good brushers. The truth is they're not. They must have inherited their Daddy's impermeable teeth. Thank goodnesss!

File under 'not a good day to be the daddy': both twins peed last night after falling asleep. First Wil comes crying out of his room around 9pm. We clean him up and put him to bed with us. Then Elizabeth comes crying out of her the guest room around 4:30 (she often sleeps in the guest room because one of us can lay down with her until she falls asleep). So, the guest bed's out of comission. Four of us in the big bed doesn't work. What to do? I suggest we sleep in Wil's bed and she starts to go to meltdown (The reactor core will go terminal in 5...4...). I tell her to stop it and then avert a meltdown by suggesting we go sleep on Wil's top bunk, which idea she loves. We sleep there until Wil comes in around 7:30. Christine couldn't believe I could sleep with her up there and not be totally worried, but I was desirous of sleep on a mattress under covers enough to manage it.

The interesting part of Elizabeth attending preschool is that it's here at church beginning at 9am three days a week, so I bring her two of those days. It's some nice daddy-daughter time.

Yes, the new sleeping schedule is wonderful. Christine and I have some time to ourselves and for each other in the evening again. It's revolutionary.

Preschool orientation went well yesterday, and today, Elizabeth's first full day at preschool, was good too. It's been difficult to get any real information from her though. Without the context, it's been hard for me to understand what she is talking about, and when she first got home she didn't want to talk at all. "I can't talk about it," she said. I was a little worried at first so I asked her if she wanted to go back tomorrow. She quickly agreed, so I think she must just be a little tired or overwhelmed. She and Wil have played really well together all afternoon.

The best part of the day for me was playing with Wil this morning. He's been so excited about staying at home alone with me. "Are you going to stay with me?" "I don't have to go to school!" I love having twins, but having just one child would be so easy for me.

Elizabeth is starting preschool tomorrow. It's time. She can write the first three letters of her name, knows all her colors, most shapes and most of the alphabet. She can count to 10, and add and subtract up to 3. The latter she figured out on her own. That's the kind of stuff they test for readiness for 1st grade. I know she will enjoy being in school. I hope being in a classroom setting will improve her enunciation. I hope the gap between her and Wil doesn't become too great. I hope Wil won't feel left behind. I hope he enjoys his one-on-one time with me. I hope we don't drive each other crazy this week before our own activities start the next. I hope I make good use of our time alone. We will see how it all unfolds.

We're giving up naps. The twins' sleeping schedule, and therefore mine, got totally out of hand during the holidays. Our first few days of the no-nap experiment went great. They both fell asleep before 8 pm. Yesterday we let Wil sneak a 45 minute nap. He was up until 11 pm. No more naps.

Yesterday was Sean's birthday. After he blew out the candles on his cake, the twins asked what he wished for. "I wish for Wil and Elizabeth to obey," he said. They must have thought that was a pretty good wish because today when they were playing birthday party, Elizabeth said, "Wil wished for Roscoe to obey and I wish for Mary Beary to obey."