The twins are playing a lot of "Gandalf Movie" these days. They've been watching selected parts of the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers with Sean. Wil's favorite part is on the appendices to Two Towers where they explain how they created the flooding of Isengard. A close second is Gandalf fighting the Balrog. He's got lots of versions of the latter including one where Gandalf transfers some of his power to Wil. "And I realized," says Wil, "Gandalf is my friend."

Wil wrapped his blocks to give as a present to Elizabeth. Sometimes he can be so SWEET!

"What can I do to stop growing up?"

'Growing up' is Wil's big concern these days. The last time we were staying at my parents' house, he asked me, "Momma, when Elizabeth and I grow up, are you going to have more babies?" I said, "Oh, no, sweetheart. You and Elizabeth are my only babies." With big tears in his eyes he said, "But then you'll be all alone." I explained that he would always be my child even when he was grown up. But he decided it'd be better if he didn't grow up.

More recently he's been worried about having to give up his blanket when he's grown up. And this morning I heard him asking God to stop him from growing up. He was looking out the window at the rain. I watched him wondering what makes a 4-year-old not want to grow up.

When he came back to the living room, he announced what he'd asked God and Elizabeth took him to task. (She has, afterall, been working hard to grow up since she was four months old.) "But you said you wanted to marry me when you grow up!" "But you're going to share your blanket with your little boy!" Etc. Wil simply said, "I did, but I changed my mind."

What happened to July? What happened in July?

The twins and I moved to my parents house in North Carolina the second week. Sean joined us the day before their 4th birthday. I must say that we have a couple of great four-year-olds. Some days I think the Blue Fairy showed up overnight and gave us model children. But then I realize that couldn't be the case since I was with them most of the night. They can be quite delightful to be with during the day, but neither of them have slept well since we left Tulsa. They're sharing a bedroom and, until tonight, a bed. We switched out beds and put a trundle bed in their room today. Hopefully that will be an improvement for all of us.

July highlights:
> 4th of July at the Farm in Iowa spent with family and playing with "farklers."
> Family birthday party in Iowa - Elizabeth got a Snow White doll that falls asleep when she gets hot and wakes up when you cool her off. Her eyes are designed to respond to the touch of a "magic wand" that has hot or cold water on it, but we found that the air conditioner worked just as well when she got too hot in the backseat of the car.
> First hike, first waterfall to/at Pearson's Falls which was at a 30-year high. Amazing.
> Walking up and down Main Street in Hendersonville on Friday nights and racing to the bears on display for "Bearfootin' in Hendersonville."
> Talking Tree Trail at Holmes State Forest and another waterfall. Of course you can't see the trees talk because "their faces are too high." Wil remembers a lot about the trees and what they said about managed forests. He has drawn a number of pictures of small trees being chopped down so the bigger trees can grow taller.
> Making and decorating chocolate chip cookie cake for their actual birthday. It was rather uneventful as birthdays go. We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch and time to play. It rained most of the day. Wil got a bunch of great VeggieTales stuff including the newest LarryBoy video. He's drawn a ream of LarryBoy and Dark Crow pictures. They're the "greatest super heroes in the world" according to Wil.

If you've been wondering how the twins are doing amidst all our moving chaos, be assurred that they are doing well. Much better than expected. The first night out of the house Wil bawled, "I want to go to my house! I want to go to my house and put all the things back in my house!" It was horrible, but we all survived and eventually got some sleep. Poor boy. He teared up regularly the first few days, especially if something made him think of Sean. But now he just checks in with me once or twice a day to verify Sean's return date. Elizabeth goes with the flow pretty well these days so long as she knows the plan ahead of time. Being confident of Daddy's return in two days, her questions generally pertain to when we're going to move to South Carolina and when she is going to go camping with GrampAl in North Carolina. Sometimes a question about when we get to go to the beach is thrown in.

Currently we're at the Meade family farm which is great fun for the twins. They love the stairs, Uncle Cory's giant TV with all day Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, constant attention from their grandparents, (which I especially appreciate as I got to read the latest Harry Potter in two days,) and a playmate in Uncle Cory. Plus Granma and GranPaul got them a "castle fwimming pool." There's a hot water faucet outside, so we can get the water temperature exactly to Elizabeth's liking. It's generally still too cold for Wil.

If I find some time later, I've got a couple of great quotes to share including Wil's responses to Granma's children's message at church yesterday.

Wil is doing pretty well without his Veggies. However, he has started to begin all his Veggie stories with 'Momma, remember when my Veggies....?" He does this even when he's just recounting a story from a video. It makes me so sad. But Kathy is going to give him their Bob and Junior, as well as a new Larry Boy for Christmas. And we found a larger Larry for $5 on christianbook.com. It may take awhile to replace our Laura the Carrot, she looked different than most Laura plush toys, but I hope she'll pop up on ebay sometime.

We are moving on Saturday. I'm going nuts trying to pack. Wil threw up repeatedly this morning. My first thought was not "poor boy." It was "I did not need this right now!" He was fine by 1 pm, but I did a lot of unplanned laundry this morning. He and Elizabeth played very well together from suppertime until bedtime. God bless them. It did not stop me from being short-tempered, but I really am grateful.

Elizabeth and I escaped the packing madness for a couple of hours this afternoon by going to Ms Kathy's house to see her Barbie collection. We were both delighted. All of the dolls were still in their boxes except one which Elizabeth is now "borrowing." Ms Kathy would have given it to her, but Daddy says no Barbies until she is 6. (I might give in, but it's good to have his word to fall back on.) However, he did say she could borrow the doll until Saturday instead of returning it tomorrow if Ms Kathy agrees. Barbie was Elizabeth's constant companion this evening. Wil gave the doll to Elizabeth several times as a "birthday present." Barbie also got into the superhero business and helped Larry Boy stop the Yodel-Napper.

This particular Barbie came with clip-on earrings for the little girl in her life. Elizabeth wore them all evening but kept checking with me to make sure they were not putting "holes in her ears." She was concerned to discover this week that I put my earrings through holes in my ears and is determined not to let that happen to her.

You know you're a bad dad when your daughter asks for PB&J and you offer her cake instead because it's already made.

(Jaq had a post like this once where his daughter asked for strawberries. The difference is, he gave her the strawberries.)

Elizabeth sings at the top of her lungs anytime we see the subject:

Fag of Amewica
Wed, white, and bwue
Fag of Amewica
The salute we give to you. Woo!

Elizabeth: Daddy, I like how you look in your yummy donut [Krispy Kreme] shirt!

We had the twins' early birthday parties. I should have posted last week about Wil's. This year's theme was VeggieTales' "Rack, Shack and Benny." (If you haven't seen the video, most of the games won't make sense, but trust me that it was great.) We invited Josh, Connor and Jackson. They all wore caps with chocolate bunnies painted on them and ties so they could be Mr. Nezzer's junior executives. We searched for Mr. Nezzer's missing chocolate bunnies, danced to "Stand Up" and "The Bunny Song," and made Bob and Larry out of clay. Wil has wanted a "Bob & Larry" cake since the one I made for their second birthday two years ago, so I tried again. I'm happy to write for the record that this version was far superior to the first. I had a little trouble getting started, including broiling the cake instead of baking it, but it all turned out well in the end. Wil enjoyed the party very much and was happy to have all his friends come to play, though I regret to report that he hit them all at least once. That night when Sean put him to bed, Wil asked, "Can we talk about my Rack, Shack & Benny party?" Coming from Wil, that's better than last year's "This is the best party ever!"

Elizabeth's Princess Party was today. Six of her "little girlfriends" attended. They danced together and played "Pin the Flag on the Castle," which was Elizabeth's original idea. Then they dug for jewels in a container of rice and decorated heart-shaped boxes with the treasures they found. They got jewelry and played the "Disney Princess Game" and "Duck, Duck, Goose." All of Elizabeth's favorite things. We gave her her birthday present early so she could dress up as a Disney princess. She chose Snow White. She was in preschooler's heaven. And she behaved magnificently. If we had to remind her to say 'thank you,' it was easily done and her manner expressed her happiness. Surprisingly, this continued all day. At one point she did say she was sad that a particular friend had not been able to attend and, as is her nature, dwelled on the things that didn't go right, like scraping her leg, but there wasn't much to be sad about and she was soon restored to birthday party bliss. She said she liked party days best, and I, too, thought party days were best if she were always so delightful to be around. (Wil, on the other hand, was a monster. The next time Elizabeth has a party, he is going to be sent away for the day.) One mention of the cake before I end. I made her a castle cake with ice cream cone towers, marshmellow crenellation, a graham cracker drawbridge, and lots of pink and purple sprinkles. Last night I didn't think it was worth it. This morning I thought it was perfect. Elizabeth liked it too.

Another 'F' story; fifth in a series

Wil really likes Rolie Polie Olie's Spooky Ooky Halloween video. One never knows when he'll bring it up.

'Remember when Fot got fooky?'

Elizabeth on Science and Nature:

Flowers are made out of petals.
Magnets are made out of stick.

Elizabeth: I want to be a ballerina and a bride when I grow up.
Wil: I want to be a '3, 2, 1, Penguins!' when I grow up!

A while back, when Christine was out of town, the kids and I were at lunch. Elizabeth and I were having a debate about her eating her lunch, but she ended up doing a good job so she could have some ice cream. I was really pleased and sort of pushed/gently hit her for joy and said 'Good job!'. She was fascinated by this strange, exuberant hitting behavior and asked me 'Why you do that?'. I tried to explain, though I didn't do a very good job.

That night we got invited to the Touchets' for dinner. I was helping her go to the bathroom, which had been somewhat of a problem. She was successful and said 'It's okay, I don't need new big girl pants.' I said 'That's a good thing because I didn't bring any.' She did that new gentle hitting thing and said 'You should have brought some.' I dissolved into laughter, then said 'You should keep your girl pants dry!'

Another 'F' story; fourth in a series

Elizabeth sings 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider'

'The itsy bitsy fider went up the water fout. Down came the wain and washed the fider out. Out came the sun and dwied up all the wain. And the itsy bitsy fider went up the water fout [sic] again.'

Delightful.

Another 'F' story: third in a series

We have this teeny-tiny ant problem. Wil intentionally spilled apple juice last night. So we wanted him to see the ants that resulted this morning. We showed him the ants and I asked him what we should do.

'We better fray um. So they will be dead.'

Last night, for some unknown reason, Wil asked me to talk about the Christmas story when I was laying down with him. We progressed through pretty steadily. We got to the part about the shepherds and the angels.

'What did they do next?' I said

'Goed. They goed to see the baby. Except...maybe they stopped to get a card first.'

*Daddy laughs and laughs and laughs.*

Another 'F' story

Wil came running into my bedroom crying the other day. It was pretty obvious he and Elizabeth had had a fight. He told me she hit him.

'What should we do?' I said.

'Let's go fank her!'

Since Christine's back, I guess I have the gumption to write:

Wil came running into the study the other day: 'Daddy, there's a fly in the kitchen!'

'What should I do?'

'Fack it!'

I'm inspired.

From this morning -
Elizabeth: What are we going to do today?
Momma: Well, I am going to do a lot of scrapbook stuff....
E: I already know that!

From sometime earlier -
Momma: Why do you think Belle's Daddy got lost?
Elizabeth: Wrong aisle.

For better or worse, I let the twins watch parts of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" with me. We borrowed Kathy's DVD so I was able to skip anything I thought would be too scary or too inappropriate. Wil talks to snakes now. "Hasheth hasheth. Be quiet Elizabeth! I'm talking to those snakes!"

Sorry there hasn't been anything new lately. I sometimes jot things down that I want to remember, so here are a few quotes that may or may not have been previously posted:

"I am a princess because my Daddy always says that to me."

"'You are so beautiful to me.' My Daddy sings that to me because I am my Daddy's daughter."

Best thing so far about summer: the sprinkler. It's a blast watching the twins play. I'm sure that's where the phrase "squeal with delight" originated.

He's a rascal

It's enough to make you start writing again.

I took the Volvo in because the radio wasn't working. The fuse was burnt out, and when I replaced it, it burnt out immediately. They said it could be a problem. So I took it in.

Went to get it this morning: penny in the cigarette lighter. 'Does it every time', two guys said (well then why didn't you tell me that in advance? 'Any pennies in the cigarette lighter?) 60$ later, now I know.

If you don't know the kids well enough to understand the title, Wil is the twin who sticks things places. I can be pretty sure it was him, He's the engineer.

The price of having kids (and letting them play in the car basically unattended).

The other night Ellizabeth was fighting bedtime a little bit. I said I was tired and asked her to lie down with me. She said, "I know - after you fall asleep I will get up."

If anything is scary, Wil says he likes it on "my Rugrat video." (The only Rugrats he's ever watched that we know of is the preview before Blue's Clues.) So, for example, he'll say, "I like Barad Dur on my Rugrats video" or "I like Orcs on my Rugrats video."

A week or so ago Sean and the twins were reading about Elijah and how he was carried to Heaven in a flaming chariot. This got them talking about when Jesus ascended to Heaven and when He's coming back. Sean told them that everyone who loves Jesus will go to Heaven with Jesus to live with Him forever. Elizabeth added, "And believes in Him," then, "I believe in Him." Wil said, "I will believe in Him when He comes back." Too late, sweet boy, but at least for today there's time to change your mind.

Last Thursday I had a chance to peek into Wil's classroom at Mother's Day Out. Wil was presiding over a tea party with Connor, Jackson and Aurora's grandson Joshua. I nearly laughed out loud as Wil passed out sugar and offered milk and cookies. I'll venture to guess that it was the other boys' first tea party.

Elizabeth still has some concerns about moving to Iowa. Yesterday she told me, "I want to have my princess party (the much anticipated theme for her birthday in July) here. I think my girl friends don't know the way to I-wa-a."

As I sit here the twins and Sean are talking about and playing as characters in The Lord of the Rings. Sean is Gandalf, Wil is Bilbo and Frodo and the rest of the hobbits, and Elizabeth is Galadriel. Elizabeth said, "Maybe when I'm not being Galadriel, I can be Gandalf's daughter." She's also Goldberry when appropriate.

We were watching DragonTales the other day and Ord was sad that no one would play with him on him birthday (because they were working on a surprise party for him). I talk about stuff like that with them, so I said 'I'd be sad too if no one would play with me on my birthday.' Wil said 'Daddy, I would play with you if it was your birthday.' Sweet boy.

Time for an update. Sean's job was terminated (lack of funds) on the 28th. We decided to go to Iowa for a week. I asked the twins if they wanted to move to Iowa. Wil said 'no.' Elizabeth wasn't sure at first but then later she asked, "When are we going to Iowa to live there forever?"

Wil is really into Big Idea's "3, 2, 1, Penguins!" these days. He flies a toy coffee pot around like a spaceship and sings the theme song. Most days he answers to Midgel.

Elizabeth was sad to go to preschool today. It must be tough on her knowing the rest of us are at home together.

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."